The White Devil
by Star of Fate
Summary: AU. Nanoha Takamachi was once just an innocent girl until she discovered she had a magical power unlike any other. Now as the White Devil, she will use her gifts to protect the good people of Uminari City and fight back against those who would harm it. Magical! Lyrical! She'll do her best!
1. Biography (Update: 11-13-15)

**The White Devil**

**Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha © Masaki Tsuzuki**

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**Prologue: Biography Page (Update: 11/13/15)  
**

Many of you are probably wondering why I had taken down this story only to put it back up again. The answer is quiet simple: with the pending cancellation of the Star-Universe and the upcoming Nexus Saga, I felt I should prioritize on original stories again. And thus, I have decided to revamp the entire White Devil story, improve upon several mistakes I made and added extra stuff I hadn't thought about in the first draft. Consider this an upgrade, staring with the Biography Page.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to send them to me via review or PM.

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**History**

The origin of the White Devil is very similar to the original. Nanoha Takamachi was an ordinary third grader under she happened to stumble across a ferret, who turned out to be a TSAB archaeologist named Yuuno Scyra. That same night as they were walking home, Suzuka is kidnapped by men working for the crime lord, Leviathan and, upon discovering she could communicate with Yuuno, Nanoha learned her magical potential and chased after them. Nanoha effortlessly defeated them and as they were carted off to jail, one of them described her as a "White Devil", and the name stuck with her ever since.

It wasn't long after Nanoha began her career as Uminari's hero that she attracted the attention of the TSAB's Dimensional Navy. For using magic on a Non-Administrated World, Admiral Lindy had used her resources to track down Nanoha and bring her into custody. Though she had broken Interdimensional Law, Lindy understood Nanoha's reasoning and chose to overlook her criminal offenses, constantly making excuses to her superiors as to the reason why Nanoha has yet to be caught.

At this point of the story, Nanoha had already been working as a hero for over a year and has gained a reputation as a hero in the eyes of the public, but is seen as a criminal by both the TSAB and the UCPD (Uminari City Police Department). For the past year, Nanoha has only had to deal with minor thieves and vandals, but now she has started attracting the attention of super criminals and mercenaries who would want Nanoha out of the way.

Between her family's cafe, her school work, being a full-time superhero, and a story of young love, Nanoha's life is about to become more complicated, but you can bet she will (Magical! Lyrical!) do her best!

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**White Devil/Nanoha Takamachi: **Youngest of three siblings and 4th grade student, Nanoha's life was flipped upside-down when she encountered a wounded ferret in the forest. To her surprise, the ferret is a mage named Yuuno Scrya and discovered she is a rare few on Earth that can use magic. Nanoha chooses to use her powers to help the good people of Uminari City and fight crime as the White Devil.

Though she has officially been Uminari's protector for a year, villains still tend to underestimate her because of her age, which she often takes advantage of. She is always shooting witty banter and puns when fighting, but truthfully this is a defense mechanism to hide her nervousness. Nanoha takes each day in stride and works to become not just a better hero, but a better person.

**Grim Reaper/Fate Testarossa: **A mercenary for hire, Fate Testarossa is feared across the galaxy as the Grim Reaper. Though only a child, Fate earned her way to infamy as one of the greatest killers in history, pulling off seemingly impossible jobs including the assassination of three TSAB admirals. As the Grim Reaper, her only motivation is money and will accept even the most unsavory jobs to get it. Rumor has it that she intends to use the money to save someone close to her.

After a failed attempt to assassinate the White Devil, Fate has made a base for herself in Uminari City and works part-time at Midori-ya. She is close friends with Nanoha (who shows signs of attraction towards Fate), but both remain unaware of each other's alter egos. She has a rather shy personality without her hood and becomes easily embarrassed, which Nanoha tends to exploit because she thinks it's cute.

**Hayate Yagami/Sky Knight: **Hayate is the younger sister of police Lt. Signum Yagami, and the fourth smartest person in Uminari City. Her intellectual levels reach university levels in the fields of computer and mechanical sciences, which is why she has never attended school. Hayate is always breaking into police databanks to keep track of Uminari's crime rate and often making breaks in cases that no one else can find. Signum, however, worries that Hayate may be becoming anti-social and tries to make her spend time away from the computer.

Hayate is obsessed with the White Devil and is one of the few people who think of her as a hero. She has come very close to finding out the White Devil's identity on several accounts, but has thus far been cut off by Lindy's interference. Under the codename Sky Knight, Hayate secretly tries to aid the White Devil with technical assistance without her sister knowing. Hayate seems to have a secret regarding the White Devil that involves the incident that cost her legs.

**Lt. Signum Yagami: **Signum is the newest member of the Uminari Police Force and has earned a reputation as one of the few honest cops in the city. She does not accept bribery, blackmail, or violent threats, which has made her the source of major annoyance to the Leviathan. She is very well-known for her aggressive style of bringing down the law, not afraid to use physical force to beat down criminals or interrogate them. But despite her demeanor, Signum makes it a rule to never kill anyone no matter how much they deserve it.

Signum is always looking out for her sister's safety, fearing that Hayate's outspoken nature will get her into trouble. She is particularly close to the Chief of Police, who is also one of the few good cops, and holds a small attraction to the local doctor, Shamal Suzuki. While she thinks that the White Devil is trying to do a good thing, she does not approve of her working outside the law and thinks even less of her since she is a child.

**Red Heat/Alisa Bannings: **Alisa was born to a wealthy family that held a respectable influence over Uminari City until her parents and household were destroyed in a mysterious fire one night. Though the immediate suspect is Mizuiro Kaiju, who had repeatedly attempted to purchase the Bannings' company, the White Devil has recently come to suspect that Alisa may have unconsciously played a part in their death due to her powers, if not the cause of it. As of yet, this has not been confirmed, nor has the White Devil revealed her thoughts to Alisa.

Though it is a common misconception that Red Heat is a mage, she is actually a mutant whose powers surfaced early due to overexposure to the White Devil's magic. Red Heat's mutant ability is to create flames through the friction of oxygen cells like a match. Her powers are thus far uncontrollable, so the White Devil provided a specialized Intelligent Device (Flame Eye) and Barrier Jacket to help contain and direct her powers.

**Blue Frost/Suzuka Tsukimura: **Suzuka is a long-time friend to both Nanoha and Alisa and the youngest daughter of the currently most influential family in Uminari City. Though rich beyond her wildest dreams, Suzuka is rather down-to-earth and never accepts more than she needs. What most people (including her friends) don't realize is that Suzuka is a member of the Sisterhood of Grimm, a secret society that has been known to perform questionable acts. It is not yet known why Suzuka joined, though she claims its to protect Nanoha from an impending threat.

Unlike Nanoha (a mage) and Alisa (a mutant), Suzuka's powers come from her Inhuman linage after accidentally becoming exposed to the Terrigen Mists. As Blue Frost, her Inhuman powers allow her to decrease the temperature of her environment instantaneously for a flash freeze effect. Suzuka's Intelligent Device (Snow White) and Barrier Jacket were provided by Sister Grimm, both of which have been recognized as Belkan tech.

**Shamal Maserati: **A local doctor that recently moved to Uminari City with her cousin Vita. She has been Nanoha's doctor for several months and is one of the few to know her secret identity as the White Devil. She is particularly close to Lt. Signum, even hinting to be in a romantic sense.

**Vita Maserati: **A third grader that lives with her cousin and legal guardian Shamal. Despite only living in Uminari for a year, Vita is worshiped at Nanoha's school for both her cute appearance and brazen attitude. For reasons unknown, Vita holds great distaste for Nanoha and often bullies her at a given opportunity.

**Vivio Sagebrecht and Einhart Startos: **A pair of foreign transfer students that have come to Uminari City only recently. They tend to isolate themselves from the rest of the school and hardly ever leave their home, but Vivio enjoys speaking with Nanoha given the chance.

**Yuuno Scrya: **A former archeologist turned ferret, Yuuno acts as a source of great knowledge to aid Nanoha in her quest for justice and a mentor to teach her how to use her full magical capabilities. Yuuno wouldn't be considered a sidekick due to his current condition, but he is not afraid to help Nanoha in a fight when she needs it most.

**Lindy Harlaown:** Admiral of the TSAB Dimensional Navy and confidant to Nanoha. Though it is her mission to bring Nanoha in to start trial for using magic on a Non-Administrated World, Lindy supports Nanoha's crusade against injustice and often assist her behind her superior's backs. Lindy makes regular excuses for why she has been unable to capture Nanoha, but she suspect that the TSAB may soon send someone else to do the job, someone who won't be afraid to hurt Nanoha.

**Komodo: **Not much is known about who or what Komodo is and every attempt thus far to learn has been interrupted. There are theories that Komodo is a mutant, an Inhuman, an experiment gone wrong, a totem vessel, and the child of Godzilla. Whatever the case is, Komodo is not as menacing as her outward appearance leads many to believe. Komodo is a protector of unfortunate people, finding those who are abandoned on the street and taking them back to the Sanctuary. Komodo is good friends with the White Devil and Signum, both of whom occasionally bring donations to her people.

**Character Profiles (Villains)**

*****Added upon appearance in story*

**Mizuiro Kaiju/Leviathan: **His true name is unknown, but he took the name Mizuiro Kaiju when he arrived on Earth ten years prior to the series. Mizuiro was a shrewd businessman who ran a number of underground dealings on Mid-Childa, taking up the moniker of the Leviathan after the sea beast of his hometown. But one day, Mizuiro made a careless mistake and nearly got himself caught by TSAB admiral Gil Graham. Mizuiro managed to escape the planet and relocated himself to an Non-Administrated Planet called Earth, where he immediately restarted his business by selling Mid-Childen technology. His business had prospered for nine years until the appearance of the White Devil, who not only interrupted several of his major deals, but also brought the attention of the TSAB to Earth.

Mizuiro is a mage like Nanoha, but is not on the same skill level as her. He specializes in celestial magic, which, coincidentally, is the same type of magic that Nanoha practices. Mizuiro is also known to have been a gifted flying back in his early days before an injury sustained against Gil Graham grounded him. Due to the similarities in their magic, Lindy has theorized that Mizuiro's arrival on Earth may have coincided with Nanoha's birth. As of yet, this is still unconfirmed.

**Bleed: ***The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable. Please contact the Time-Space Administration Bureau Criminal Archives* *Update: File does not exist*

**Gabriel Ciel/Tailwind: **A brilliant man of French descent that had a promising career in the field of aerospace engineering, but after an accident with a prototype engine he invented caused the deaths of a dozen co-workers, Gabriel was fired and news of the accident prevented him from finding stable work. He started using his knowledge of aerodynamics and engineering to become a master thief that specialized in high-rise robberies, discovering that he had a natural talent for it.

When he was hired for several jobs in Japan, his employer supplied him with a specialized suit made from an unknown material and aerial tech that makes him a better flier than even the White Devil. Closer inspection of the suit shows that the material is closely related to Mid-Childan tech, but the TSAB presently has no knowledge of any existing technology that matches it. The White Devil Beyond claims that it is technology is from the future and thus hasn't been invented yet.

Unlike most villains, Tailwind did not name himself, but was named by the White Devil.

**Sota Jishin/Seismic: **A common street criminal that was born and raised in Uminari City like Nanoha, but with an opposite purpose in life. Sota was once a member of a tough street gang known as the Dragon Heads until the Leviathan arrived in Uminari ten years ago and effortlessly crushed the gang in order to establish his reputation. Sota was quick to accept a working job from the Leviathan, but the Leviathan quickly became impatient with Sota's hot head and loud mouth and quickly fired him.

He was recently given a pair of Mid-Childan tech gloves that can manipulate vibrations by the same man that provided Tailwind with his flight suit. Seismic uses his vibro-gloves to build a fearsome reputation rather than for personal profit, which makes him a joke to others in the White Devil's Rogue Gallery.

Seismic lost his hearing after a disastrous fight against the White Devil and Signum Yagami and holds a personal grudge against them both

**Gregory Gordon/Blitzkrieg: **A former squad captain in the German military, regarded as one of the best in the country, until he was dishonorably discharged for abuse of authority and blackmail. Forced to flee from his country in shame, the Leviathan hired him for his military expertise as one of his top enforcers. When the White Devil emerged, Gordon suffered a constant sting of defeats which earned him a reputation as the White Devil's punching bag.

Gordon was given a suit made by the TSAB Research and Development by the Leviathan, which increases her reflexes above superhuman levels and discharges strong electric shocks. Though called Blitzkrieg, the White Devil constantly calls him Sparkler; a fad that catches on to other heroes and villains.

Gordon is the White Devil's longest rival, sometimes considered her arch-enemy.

**Scorch/Unknown: **A pyromaniac cultist that was born and raised in Silent Hill, Maine during the time when the town and it's people mysteriously vanished into an impenetrable fog. It is unknown how Scorch managed to escape Silent Hill, but when she came out, she proclaimed herself to be a messenger of God sent to cleanse the world of sin in fire. She is solely responsible for hundred of burnings spanning from North America to Asia, finally coming to a stop in Japan where she was confronted by the White Devil, whom she sees as the agent of the real Devil.

Scorch incorporates the use of many flame-based weaponry including knives, flamethrowers, and incendiary grenades. At one point she wielded what she believed to be a sacred sword called Laevatein until it was confiscated by Signum, never knowing it was actually an Armed Device from the Belkan Era.

(Scorch is the re-imaged version of Pyrexia from the White Devil prototype story).

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**And that does it for the opening biography. As it says above, this page will be updated regularly based on the appearances of characters. The first real chapter will be given a major revamp, taking out Sparkler as the main threat (he's still there though) and will have the White Devil contend with a more difficult opponent to kick things off right. Until next time…**

**Nanoha: **Magical! Lyrical! I'll do my best!


	2. The Devil Wears White (nano)?

**The White Devil**

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha © Masaki Tsuzuki  
All Characters © Respective Owners.

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**Lyrical Record 1: The Devil Wears White (nano)?  
**

A new day was just beginning on Uminari, the city by the sea. The sun was barely starting to peek over the horizon, but the city was already alive with people; local shopkeepers open their doors with smile on their faces, businessmen grumble over the regular commute to work, and sleepy children reluctantly dragging themselves off to school for the day. And down by the West Port Dock, Gregory Gordon tried, and failed, to fight back gave a loud and exhaustive yawn.

"Long night, Greg?" asked one of his co-workers.

"You could say that," Gregory Gordon mumbled tiredly.

Gregory Gordon leaned against one of the shipping containers they were meant to deliver, rubbing his eyes, which were red due to a lack of sleep as of late. Everything was running smoothly this morning; their men had secured the shipment and delivered it to the docks on schedule and now they were loading it into one of the containers, which would be lifted onto the ship and sailed away to its destination. Everything was going according to plan…and that unnerved him.

Gregory Gordon had only been in Japan for eight months after moving from his home country of Germany, and had been working in Uminari City for less than six. It was the Leviathan who had given him the job, the only person who would provide work for a former military that was dishonorably discharged. When he started working the streets, he had everything planned out: threaten some people, break a few bones, maybe even silence a person or two, and he would be set for life. Sounds easy in a peaceful no-name city like Uminari, right? But every time – _every damn time _– something, or rather someone, got in the way and usually ended with regular visits to the hospital. Even now, Gregory Gordon looked over his shoulder, half expecting to see that little demon popping its head around the corner, laughing at him.

"You all right?" said his co-worker. "You look a little…twitchy."

"You'd be twitchy too if you thought _she _was about to drop in at any second," said Gregory Gordon.

"_She_?"

"The White Devil," said Gregory Gordon earnestly.

"What? You're scared of her" his co-worker aid, laughing. "From what I've heard, she's just a kid."

"That kid broken my jaw two weeks ago," said Gregory Gordon, "and she put me in the hospital with a concussion a week before that. That _kid_ is not just some kid – she's a demon. You must have heard how she's been busting up the Leviathan's groups all over the city. Two nights ago, T-Bone and Razor were supposed to make a gun trade down in the Miles and the cops found them hanging from a lamppost with their front teeth missing."

"Those guys were idiots; they called themselves T-Bone and Razor," said the co-worker. "Greg, you need to relax. Look, everyone knows the White Devil only busts people at night and it's already sunrise. She's not gonna show. Why don't you grab yourself some coffee? You look like you could use the caffeine."

"Here you go," said a small girlish voice, offering two cups of steaming-hot coffee.

"Hey, thanks," said the co-worker appreciatively.

"Yeah, thanks, kid," said Gregory Gordon.

The girl blinked as each other them took their coffee, staring at them in amazement. She counted the seconds before both of them caught on, spit coffee into each other's faces, and turned on her, screaming:

"WHITE DEVIL!"

"Wow, that was a delayed reaction," said the White Devil.

Far be it for any of them to judge, but the White Devil hardly appeared the demonic protector criminals whispered about in fear. Barely coming at their waist and very thin, most would just mistake her for a primary school student. But primary school students didn't wear a padded white and blue dress uniform with a cloth covering their mouth and a white hood over their heads. And they certainly didn't float a foot off the ground, spinning a red-jeweled scepter casually around in their fingers.

Having heard Gregory Gordon and his co-worker scream her name, the other six henchmen – as the White Devil liked to think of them – dropped what they were doing and ran their way. The White Devil's eyes fell down on Gregory Gordon and his co-worker as both of them reached into their pockets, pulling out their guns. The White Devil threw herself between Gregory Gordon and the other man with her staff held out, pulling them both by the neck and hitting the ground. The White Devil tucked and rolled forward into a crouch; the henchmen formed a line in front of her with their rifles aimed for her head. As the henchmen pulled the trigger, the White Devil threw up her hand, shouting:

"**Round Shield!**"

A large, encrypted circle of glowing-pink energy formed in the air between them just as the henchmen took their shots. The bullets rebounded of the strange energy shield, flying off the ground and against the shipping containers. One rebounded bullet hit a henchman in the leg, causing him to fall forward, and another hit one in the shoulder, throwing him on his back. Seeing the damage she had unintentionally done, the White Devil dropped her shield and crossed her arms over her face as the remaining henchmen sprayed her with bullets. Her Barrier Jacket was imbued with a protective spell to withstand most attacks, but even she knew that it would last forever. She needed to get out fast.

The henchmen slowly advanced on the White Devil, a couple of them laughing, and never relenting on their attack. Very carefully, the White Devil moved her right arm to cover her face as she lifted her staff up with her left before slamming the end down on the ground.

"**Shockwave!**" shouted the White Devil.

A ripple of pink energy expanded from the point where the White Devil's staff hit the ground. The henchmen were immediately thrown on their ground and some of them even dropped their rifles by accident. Before any of them had a chance to pick themselves up, the White Devil swiftly moved from man to man, grabbing each one by the head and slamming them down into the concrete, rendering them unconscious. Just as she had knocked out the last of them, the White Devil turned around and noticed that Gregory Gordon was back on his feet, a small pistol shakily aimed at her head. The White Devil put a hand on her hip and smirked under her mask.

"Think carefully for a moment," said the White Devil. "You have that tiny gun and I have pink beams of death. It's your call."

Gergory Gordon looked at the White Devil before staring down at his gun. Back to the White Devil. Then back to the gun again. Gregory Gordon promptly punched himself in the face and collapsed.

"Good call," said the White Devil. She stepped over the pile of unconscious henchmen to one of the crates that hadn't been loaded into a shipping container. "Hmm…looks like it's an electronic lock. Raising Heart, think you can open it."

"**Affirmative, Master,**" the red jewel of the White Devil's staff said, glowing pink as it spoke.

In a moment, the electronic lock on the crate beeped and the top opened with a soft hiss; the White Devil threw off the cover and looked down inside. There were a dozen gigantic spools of red thread neatly packed inside the crate, only this threat was unusually bright and sparkling. The White Devil touched the side of her head, opening a connection in her mind.

"Lindy-san, it's just like you thought," said the White Devil. "Leviathan is sending out another shipment of Life Fiber. According to the manifest I found on Gordon, it's headed to the same place as the last shipment: Honno City."

"**Life Fibers are an S-Rank illegal substance and dangerous for humans,**" said Admiral Lindy Harlaown. "**I don't even want to imagine what they are doing over there with Life Fibers. The important thing is that we extract as much of them off the planet as soon as possible. I'll send word to my men to retrieve it and have it transferred to TSAB Lock-Up**."

"And mark another amazing victory for the great Lindy Harlaown, the TSAB's miracle admiral," Nanoha said jokingly.

"**I doubt anyone calls me that**," said Lindy, chuckling. "**But I won't deny that our little partnership has done wonders for my career. It almost makes up for the fact that I haven't arrested you yet.**"

"Yeah…there's no chance they're ever going to forget about that, is there?" Nanoha asked nervously.

"**Unlikely**," said Lindy. "**The admirals on the High Council have memories like Earth elephants**."

"…I know there's a joke in there somewhere, just can't think of a good one," said the White Devil.

The White Devil distracted herself in deciding a clever pun, failing to notice the woman looming above her atop the stack of shipping containers. The woman kneeled, unlatched the large carrying case she had brought with her, pulling out a light anti-armor rocket launcher, and hefting it onto her shoulder. She peered through the scope and, once the White Devil was in the middle of her crosshairs, sent the missile flying down on the docks. Fortunately, the White Devil heard the blowback of the missile and spun around to see the rocket spiraling her way. The White Devil quickly glided off to the side, narrowly avoiding the ensuing explosion, but the blast threw the crate of Life Fibers into the air and down into the ocean with a great _splash_.

"**Nanoha, what was that?**" said Lindy, sounding panicked over the mental connection.

"Call ya back," Nanoha said quickly, disconnecting them. "You know, there are other ways of getting my attention! I wouldn't say no to a hug-o-gram or some chocolate and flowers would be nice."

"Yeah, but this way is just so much more fun," said the woman, throwing away the shoulder-launcher.

The woman took a step forward and dropped down on top of the container below, letting the White Devil get a good look at her. She was roughly the age of a young adult with shocking-white hair dressed in a blue-and-orange color scheme with some visible chainmail mesh underneath and a pair of swords strapped to her back. She had a white patch over where her left eye should to be, and the White Devil did not think it was for decorative purposes.

"So, what am I supposed to call you?" said the White Devil. "Patchy the Ninja Girl?"

"Name's Rose Wilson," said Rose Wilson, "but you can call me Ravager."

"Nah, I think I'll stick with Patchy," said the White Devil humorously; she could see Ravager's remaining eye twitch irritably. "So, Patchy, what's a sweet-looking girl like you doing running with guy like Leviathan? Wait, don't tell me. You're into those bad boy types, aren't ya?"

"The Leviathan's money is green," said Ravager. "And as a bonus…I get to kill a devil."

"Actually, Yen notes are more brown or blue – "

Ravager, far from amused, dipped into one of the many pouches on her belt and withdrew a handful of bladed stars, which she threw at the White Devil. The White Devil easily ducked underneath the throwing stars; they made a chorus of grinding metal as they stabbed the container behind her.

"Shuriken? In Japan?" said the White Devil, her brow raised. "Can you _be _any more cliché?"

"Show me what you've got!" shouted Ravager.

She took off running along the rows of containers. The White Devil hovered off the ground and gave chase. By waving her finger around in a full circle, she formed six balls of pink energy in the air and gestured them towards Ravage and they shot across the sky like rockets. Ravager easily dodged the energy blasts by outrunning them before jumping to a higher container with an impressive spiral flip. Grimacing, the White Devil flew higher into the air until she could see the entire shipping yard below her and starting moving her hand around to form another row of energy blasts.

Ravager saw what she was planning and reached into her pouch, pulling out an advanced-looking grapnel gun. She took careful aim as she ran along the containers and shot the hook skyward, successfully tying the cord around the White Devil's ankle. The White Devil, surprised by her ensnarement, unconsciously broke off from her attack and the energy balls evaporated. Once knowing that she had caught the Devil, Ravage pulled back on the cord. The White Devil yelped as she was ripped form the air and landed hard on one of the shipping containers, making a large dent in the roof.

"Ooh…that is so cheating," the White Devil groaned.

The White Devil felt a tug at her ankle and was suddenly dragged across the container as Ravager started to drop from a higher vantage point. Ravager reached into her pouch once more, this time retrieving a collapsible bo staff. She slammed one end of her staff down on the White Devil's head, but the White Devil quickly tilted it to the side and rolled away from Ravager. The White Devil flipped back to her feet, cut the wire with a well-precision energy blast, and lifted Raising Heart over her head to intercept Ravager's staff.

Ravager was exceptional skilled as much as the White Devil hated to admit it. When she blocked a blow to the head, Ravager quickly countered with a jab to the ribs. When she ducked under a swing, Ravager spun around and delivered a windmill kick to the side of her face, throwing her against the wall of another container. The only time the White Devil managed to find an opening was she Ravager ducked to dodge one of her energy balls. She didn't waste the opportunity; she ran at Ravager and used a flying kick to her chest, throwing her over the side of the container.

Panting, the White Devil moved closer to the edge of the container and peeked down to see where Ravager had landed. But the moment she looked over, Ravager came flying back up with a sharp kick to the White Devil's face that flipped her backwards on to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. The White Devil wheezed as she delicately stood back up and stared down Ravager, who had collapsed her staff and returned it to her pouch.

"Giving up already?" said the White Devil, mostly sounding relieved. "I thought the party was just getting started."

"This will shut you up," said Ravager, unsheathing one of the swords.

"Or it could make me talk more; you never know," sang the White Devil.

Ravager rolled her one good eye and lunged at the White Devil.

Now at this point, most people would think that the villain switching to a more lethal weapon would make things more difficult. But for the White Devil, it was exactly the opposite. The White Devil effortlessly pushed Ravager's blade away with Raising Heart's body and ducked underneath as she took a swing. Ravager spun around with the momentum and brought her sword down on top of the White Devil. The White Devil tilted Raising Heart so that the sword slid around the shaft and threw a quick jab to Ravager's face. Ravager recoiled from the blow, but quickly fell back into the flow of battle with a swing from the right and then spun around for a quick back stab, both of which the White Devil easily defended against.

Ravager spun back around for another skyward strike, but the White Devil once again forced her blade to slide along Raising Heart's shaft then spun the weapon in a circular motion, throwing Ravager's sword into the air. While Ravager was flabbergasted by the sight of her sword flying, the White Devil threw a quick kick to the abdomen that sent her tumbling backwards a few feet away. Ravager curled herself and landed properly in a kneeling position, holding her stomach, as her sword came down and handed in the White Devil's hand.

"How did you do that?" asked Ravager.

"This is one of the few times I'm glad my dad forced me to learn our family's sword style," said the White Devil.

"I see," Ravager hummed, standing and unsheathing her second sword. "Looks like we both have er…extravagant parents. But I can promise you, mine is a little more persuasive if you get my meaning."

"I don't, but I really don't ewant to," said the White Devil. "Take a break, Raising Heart. I've got this."

"**All right, Master,**" said Raising Heart.

The bejeweled scepter glowed and soon dissolved into a round, tiny red gem, flapping around the area with tiny pink wings. Others would have thought this strange, but not Ravager; her eye was only on the kill.

Ravager and the White Devil lunged towards one another; the blades sparked upon their imminent clash. Being older and physically stronger, Ravage easily overtook the White Devil and pushed her back. But what she hadn't realized was that the White Devil intentionally allowed herself to be pushed back so that she could duck under Ravager's arms and strike a solid uppercut to her chin. Ravager flinched but she didn't back away. She swiped her sword across the air, but the White Devil effortlessly ducked and banged the hilt of her own sword against Ravager's ribs. Ravager growled and pushed away from the White Devil, taking a backwards swipe against her; the White Devil simply leaned away from her reach.

Ravager was growing more irritated now. She once again closed the distance between them and their swords sparked flew from the point where their blade impacted. The White Devil pushed Ravager's sword away and pushed forward to slam her shoulder into Ravager's chest. But in doing so, the White Devil left and opening for Ravager to grab her by the head and spin her around into a headlock. Ravager brought her sword up with the intent of slicing the Devil's throat, but the White Devil quickly brought up her own sword to intercept. In the split-second of time that Ravager was thrown off balance, the White Devil grabbed Ravager by the wrist and pulled all of her weight to flip Ravager over her shoulder.

Ravager rolled until her back hit against another shipping container. When she stood up proper, she gasped as the White Devil threw her own sword back at her. Naturally, the White Devil had no intention of actually hurting Ravager and only stabbed the area next to her head. But in the moment when Ravager was distracted, the White Devil flew up close and punched her square in the face, hitting the back of her head against the container. Ravager collapsed sideways, unconscious.

"Well, that was a thing," said the White Devil. She touched her head, reestablishing the mental connection. "Sorry 'bout that, Lindy-san. Patchy the Ninja Girl nearly took my head off. But don't worry, you friendly neighborhood White Devil took care of her."

"**Patchy the – no, no, I don't want to know,**" said Lindy. "**As long as you are fine, that's all that matters. Did you manage to secure the Life Fibers?**"

"Yeah, about that…," said the White Devil awkwardly, staring down at the hole in the docks. "You like fishing, right?"

"**So much for my raise**," Lindy sighed over the connection. "**Oh well, at least no one can get their hands on them at the bottom of the ocean.**"

"Not unless the fish suddenly gain a sense of fashion," the White Devil joked. "It'll be fine, Lindy-san. There are worse things that could have happened."

"**Like you being ten minutes late for school**?" said Lindy.

"BWAH! Tell me these things earlier!" the White Devil screamed, quickly flying off. "Oh man, sensei is going to kill me!"

As the White Devil left the shipping yard and flew off into the skyline, several UCPD cars screeched around the docks, their sirens wailing and lights flashing. Several men and women in police uniform jumped out of their cars with their guns loaded and immediately began to surround the area, many of them looking surprised to see the perpetrators knocked out on the ground. He only one who did not seem to be in a hurry was Lt. Signum Yagami, who had just closed her car door and stared into the sky, following the trail of the White Devil.

Signum treaded across the crime scene as her fellow cops pulled the criminals to their feet, slapping them with cuffs and forcing them into the back of their vehicles. She watched six to seven of her co-workers struggle to hold down a woman dressed in pirate/ninja costume, shouting obscenities for the White Devil. A police sergeant came up to her with a clipboard.

"What have we got?" asked Signum.

"Almost everything seems normal," said the police sergeant. "Except for a few unmarked items suspected to be used for illegal smuggling. We'll have the boys down in evidence lock-up take a better look. Some of the people we arrested have a long list of priors including Gregory Gordon and Rose Wilson."

"I'm willing to bet they were both hired by the Leviathan," said Signum.

"That sound like a safe bet," said the sergeant. "It's a good thing the White Devil was here when she was."

"There is nothing good about the White Devil getting involved with police business," said Signum sternly. "You'll do well to remember that."

"But isn't she doing a good thing?" asked the sergeant, confused. "In the last year alone, crime rate had fallen by ten percent since she showed up. Everyone calls her a hero. I don't get why you don't like her."

"It has nothing to do with liking her or not," said Signum. "Yes, I will admit that she has done more good for the sake of Uminari City than even the UCPD and I'm proud of that fact. But from what I heard, she's roughly the same age as my little age. Could you imagine what it would be like if you thought your sister or daughter was out there fighting dangerous criminals and risking her life every day?"

"…Yeah, I see what you mean," said the sergeant. "So…what are you doing to do if you ever catch her?"

"I haven't really thought about that," Signum said honestly. "For now, I just hope she is somewhere safe and out of harm's way."

* * *

The bell rang at Shishou Elementary, which meant one thing: lunch period!

Nanoha could not have been any happier when it finally arrived, finally able to take her mind of the redundancy of school work and just enjoy some time with her best friends in the world, Alisa Bannings and Suzuka Tsukimura. It wasn't that Nanoha thought the lessons were pointless or unnecessary, but ever since she had discovered she had magical powers, Yuuno has been personally teaching her on a University level. Of course, that only pertained to math and science; her language skills were still full of flaws and nobody could beat Suzuka when it came to physical education.

Nanoha, Alisa, and Suzuka pulled their desks together near the window and pulled out their lunches. Nanoha always brought something simple that her mother made or that she go from their family's café. Alisa and Suzuka, however, always brought fancy bentos that looked like they cost more than her house; one of the perks of being born to wealth, she supposed.

"So, how'd it go with Sensei?" asked Suzuka. "Was he mad?"

"It's the fourth time I was late for class this week," Nanoha grumbled. "Of course he was mad. He even called my mom and dad. Oh, I am in so much trouble when I get home."

"Well, that's what happens when you get caught skipping," said Alisa.

"I only got caught because you shouted my name to the whole class," said Nanoha, leering. Alisa turned her head and tried to whistle innocently. "Hey, don't pull that on me! I invented that trick!"

"Now, now, let not fight during lunch," said Suzuka sweetly, attempting to dissolve the situation. "Let's talk about something else. Something like…oh, I know! You heard about the White Devil this morning!"

Nanoha almost chocked on her sandwich and had to take a long swig of milk to force it down her throat.

She shouldn't be surprised that her best friends wanted to exchange stories about the latest White Devil sightings. Ever since the White Devil 'mysteriously' appeared to save Suzuka from an attempted kidnapping, she and Alisa worshipped the White Devil like some kind of demi-goddess. And the worst part was that Nanoha had to listen to them swap rumors on a daily basis and resist the urge to blurt out that she was the White Devil. It wasn't that Nanoha didn't trust them with her identity – she had more faith in them than anyone else – but she had a funny feeling that once they knew, they might start to make some odd requests that could lead to some…awkward questions.

" – and I heard that they arrested a ninja-pirate there," said Suzuka.

"Wait, what is a ninja-pirate?" Alisa asked confused.

"Oh, someone said there was a girl in a ninja outfit with an eyepatch," said Suzuka.

"Doesn't that just mean she has a bad eye?" said Alisa with her brow raised.

"Ooh," Suzuka said, like she had just realized it. "Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. So she was just a normal ninja girl with a bad eye."

"I don't think there is such a thing as a 'normal ninja girl'," said Alisa. "The White Devil is so cool, flying around the city shooting death beams and getting into sword fights with ninjas. I wish I knew who the White Devil is. I bet she's a rich girl who lost her parents during a random mugging, swearing vengeance on criminals everywhere and using her family's money to make cool crime fighting gadgets."

"I think the White Devil is an alien," said Suzuka. "When her home planet was about to be destroyed, her scientist parents sent her to Earth in a rocket ship and she was found by a kind couple who raised her to uphold truth and justice."

"Or maybe she was raised on an island of warrior women," Alisa continued excitedly. "She was curious about the outside world and wanted to leave her home, so their gods gave her magic powers to protect her and she fight evil for the sake of peace and love."

Nanoha was so tempted to tell them that was the exact story of Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, and Diana Prince, but she was sure Batman would scold her.

"Who do you think the White Devil is, Nanoha?" asked Suzuka.

"Me?" said Nanoha, blinking for a moment. "Hmm…I don't know. Maybe I'm the White Devil."

Alisa and Suzuka put down their food and stared at her for a minute. Then they burst out laughing.

"Y-y-you? The Wh-White Dev-vil!" Alisa shriked, choking on her own laughter. "If – if you're the Whi-White Devil, then – then I'm t-the Emperor of-of Japan!"

"You don't have to be so mean about it," said Nanoha, pouting.

"We're sorry, Nanoha," Suzuka apologized, wiping a tear of mirth from her eye. "But the idea of you being the White Devil is rather…ridiculous. The White Devil is feared by every criminal in the city and you – well, you're too much of a nice girl. You wouldn't hurt a fly."

"I slapped Alisa-chan once," Nanoha countered.

"There's a big difference between slapping a primary school girl and beating up a gang of thugs," Alisa snort. "White Devil – yeah right."

Nanoha smiled placidly as she ate her lunch in silence; it was better this way.

* * *

As the Nanoha Takamachi returned to her mundane school routine on the opposite side of Uminari City, Mizuiro Kaiju leaned back in his chair with her fingers massaging his forehead, trying to fight back a migraine as his client ripped him a new one over the phone.

Mizuiro Kaiju had done well for himself these last ten years; a tall, well-built man with naturally tan skin and neatly combed silver hair – the coloring of which he explained away as a medical condition from when he was younger. He had worked hard to get where he was, sitting in a comfortable leather chair behind a finely polished desk at the top of one of Uminari's tallest buildings. Most of his hard work came from good business sense; playing the stock market and purchasing small business before expanding them. Some of his shadier dealing required taking another name so as to not ruin his good reputation. That is when he became the Leviathan, the serpent of the sea, a master of smuggling advance technology that didn't exist on Earth and selling it to the highest bidder. It wasn't long before everyone in Uminari's underworld looked to him as the Kingpin and he had come close to take over the entire town.

And then, one year ago, everything changed. A mage appeared. A mage on a Non-Administrated planet. Mizuiro knew that there were chances of people on Earth showing potential for magic, but they were extremely rare and he didn't think there would be any close by. But now that she is here, she is constantly ruining his business dealings and costing him a fortune in technology he had smuggled to Earth. And if that wasn't bad enough, now the TSAB were starting to become interested in the planet as well because of the White Devil.

If only he could get rid of that little demon…if only…

"Am I boring you, Mr. Kaiju?" said a smooth, feminine voice over the phone speaker.

"Not at all, Ms. Ragyo, just thinking," said Mizuiro calmly. "As I was saying, I deeply apologize for being unable to send your latest shipment of Life Fibers. I promise that you will be fully reimbursed for your troubles."

"I don't care for monetary gain, Mr. Kaiju," said Ragyo. "I paid good money for those Life Fibers and I expect to be compensated for it."

"And you will, Ms. Raygo," said Mizuiro. "But you must understand that we are currently dealing with some…pressing matters."

"Your petty problems are none of my concern," said Ragyo coldly. "I want those Life Fibers and I want them soon. Good bye."

Ragyo hanged up and the office buzzed with the long, annoying tone. Mizuiro took a deep breath…and then smashed the telephone beneath his fist, silencing the noise. At that moment, a man with neatly combed brown hair in a leisurely business suit entered the office, carrying a stack of folders under his arms. The man walked calmly around the office, neatly stacked the folders on Mizuiro's desk, and swept the shattered remains of the telephone into the nearby trash bin. The whole time his expression never changed; he was far too used to Mr. Kaiju's outbursts by now.

"Problems with Ragyo Kiryuin?" asked the man.

"Just an annoying gnat with a God Complex," said Mizuiro, sighing as he leaned back in his chair. "She doesn't even understand the full capability of the product she purchases. But it doesn't matter if she never receives her purchases, does it, Lawson?"

"I suppose not," said Lawson. "Does that mean Miss Wilson was unable to eliminate the White Devil?"

"I just got a report on her arrest this morning," said Mizuiro, "along with Gregory Gordon. We should start planning to post bail for Mr. Gordon; Miss Wilson can rot in her cell for all I care."

Spinning around in his chair, Mizuiro Kaiju stared out into the Uminari City skyline through the window of his office. If there was one thing that Mizuiro liked about this city, it was definitely the ocean. It reminded him of the long beaches near his home from before he arrived on Earth. It had the same calming effect that always relaxed him whenever he was stressed.

"When I came here ten years ago, I had a simple plan," said Mizuiro, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "I wanted to run my own business, having something that I could say proudly that was mine to own. Not the Bureau, not the Grendel, and certainly not the Huckebeins. It was all mine. And before I knew it, it was running my own empire…and then the White Devil shows up and starts ruining everything."

"She does have a funny way of doing the wrong thing at the right time," said Lawson. "Any new plans on how to deal with her?"

"I just don't know anymore, Lawson," said Mizuiro. "I've thrown everything money can buy at the White Devil and she just keeps coming. I'm starting to think nothing on Earth can stop her."

"…then maybe that's the answer, sir," said Lawson, looking like he was struck with sudden inspiration. "Maybe no one on _Earth _can be the White Devil."

Mizuiro folded his hands together and rested his chin on top, taking a moment to contemplate the meaning of those words. And then, a smile crossed his face.

"Lawson, bring me the latest Bingo Book," said Mizuiro happily. "I need to make a few calls."

* * *

**Yukari Tamura: **There are those who say the sky is the limit. And then there are those who believe in what lies beyond that sky. A child who dreamed of soaring to new heights is thrown into disarray by one who lays claim to those very skies. And now the devils wings threaten to be torn apart. Next time on the White Devil…

**Can I Touch the Sky (nano)?**

**Nanoha: **Magical! Lyrical! I'll do my best!


	3. Can I Touch the Sky (nano)?

**The White Devil**

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha © Masaki Tsuzuki  
All Characters © Respective Owners.

* * *

**Lyrical Record 2: Can I Touch the Sky (nano)?**

"The sky sure is amazing, isn't it?" said Nanoha blissfully

Staring up in the sky was always one of Nanoha's favorite activities, right up there with beating up bad guys and _trouncing _Alisa at video games. She didn't know what it was that captivated her so; maybe it was the element of freedom that they sky represented and she was one of very rare few that could exploit that freedom. Or perhaps it was just her own thoughts of flying beyond that wide blue sky into the endless abyss beyond, visiting other worlds and gaining new experiences. Knowing the existence of the TSAB certainly pushed for the latter. But then again, like Kyouya always says, she's just overthinking things.

Alisa Slapped Nanoha over the head, bringing her back down to Earth. She had almost forgotten that Alisa and Suzuka were even there. It was one of the few times that neither of them had to head off to cram school or piano practice, so Suzuka suggested they get together and do something after school. Nanoha firmly rejected the idea of hanging out at Midori-ya. She loved her dad to bits, but he could be so _embarrassing _around other people.

"You're always getting your head lost in the clouds," Alisa complained loudly. "If it wasn't attached to your neck, I bet it would have floated off by now."

"Mou, that's mean, Alisa-chan!" Nanoha whined.

"Don't mind her, Nanoha," said Suzuka, giggling. "Alisa is a simple-minded person. She's not the type to appreciate deep and thoughtful conversations."

"Yeah, I guess it was too much to ask for Alisa-chan to understand something complex as philosophy," said Nanoha, smiling.

"HEY!"

"So you were saying something about a new café?" Nanoha said to Suzuka.

"Don't change the subject!" Alisa yelled.

"There's a new place that just opened up a few blocks from Midori-ya," said Suzuka. "It's called The Rabbit House. I hear they sell dozens of different blends of coffee and have the cutest rabbit breads. Oh, and their mascot is a cute angora rabbit named Tippy. It's the cutest little thing you've ever seen, like a fluffy little marshmallow!"

"STOP IGNORING ME!" Alisa shrieked

"So cute!" Nanoha squeaked. "I wish we had a cute little mascot at our café. Don't get me wrong, Yuuno-kun is nice and all, but he's not exactly – "

A loud explosion echoed in the background. Nanoha, Alisa, and Suzuka shot their heads straight up. They had been passing by the main headquarters of Seaport Enterprises; the multi-purpose company owned by Mizuiro Kaiju (or as the White Devil knows him, the Leviathan). Smoke was coming out from one side of the building close to the top, most likely where the explosion had originated. A moment later, something shot out of the smoke and zoomed across the Uminari skyline, leaving a vibrant-red blur in its wake. It was only for a split-second, but Nanoha could definitely tell that there was a man inside that blur.

"What was that?" Suzuka asked worried. "It look like something went off inside. You think anyone is hurt?"

"Who cares?" said Alisa coldly. "That's Kaiju's company. If anything did happen, I'll bet he probably deserved it. Ain't that right, Nanoha? …Nanoha?"

Alisa and Suzuka turned around; she was gone.

Nanoha didn't agree with Alisa….Okay, maybe she did a little. But the White Devil didn't; she's supposed to protect people, even if it was men like the Leviathan. So when Alisa and Suzuka weren't looking, she slipped away into the nearest alley and took cover behind an overflowing dumpster; her nose was really going to hate her for this later. Nanoha slipped her hand down her shirt and pulled out her necklace, holding it up to the air, and said:

"Raising Heart, Onegai!"

"**Stand-by ready! Set-up!**" said Raising Heart.

Raising Heart covered the alleyway in a blinding white light as Nanoha's clothing were ripped apart and reformed into her White Devil uniform (**and if any readers are imagining a nude ten year-old girl, please report to your nearest police station.**) Armored up in white-and-blue padded clothing, the White Devil tossed Raising Heart in the air as golden pieces of tech formed from nothing and fit together like a puzzle, forging an arc around the jewel. A pink-and-white rod extended from the bottom, which the White Devil grabbed, twirling the staff between her fingers.

"Magical! Lyrical!" the White Devil chanted, putting on a heroic pose.

Now that that's out of the way, back to the story…

The White Devil rocketed skyward, turning sharply in the direction she had seen the flying man escape. His neon trail had already dissipated, but Raising Heart's scanners picked up the runner's vapor trail, showing the path in the air with a holographic screen in front of the White Devil's face. The trail led very far from Newport Headquarters into Uminari's downtown district, which left the White Devil rather impressed by much distance he was able to cover in short amount of time.

The White Devil flew as fast as she could and covered the distance between them in under two minutes; it seemed like the airborne criminal had made a stop at the top of the general hospital. The man was kneeling, looking inside a shiny silver briefcase. So the criminal wasn't just a bomber, but a thief too. This made the White Devil feel a little better about helping the Leviathan.

The White Devil pushed out more Mana through her feet, giving her a big boost of speed, and stamped her feet on the hospital roof as hard as she could, forming a spider-web pattern in the pavement. Overdramatic sure, but one of the things the White Devil had learned is that theatrics are a great tool for making the villain take you seriously. Apparently it worked; the criminal slammed the case shut, tucked it under his arm, and spun around with his arm held out; he had a thin laser projector attached to his wrist.

"Hey, Speedy, don't you know Uminari has a strict 'no flying' policy?" said the White Devil.

"**Uh…Master…?**" said Raising Heart awkwardly.

"I know; I heard myself," the White Devil groaned.

The White Devil took a quick look at the thief, paying close attention to his tech. His suit was made from a reflective black material that looked like it was made up of millions of interwoven hexagons. Some of the hexagon plates were red in color, creating line patterns around the boots and gloves, and in the middle of his chest was as large round ruby that bared a striking resemblance to Raising Heart. His helmet was made from the same material; black hexagons with a V-shaped red visor. The White Devil caught a quick peek over the thief's shoulder, spotting what looked like a backpack made from the same hexagon material as the rest of the suit.

"Nice tech you got there," the White Devil complimented. "You steal that from Leviathan – sorry, I mean, Mr. Kaiju?"

The thief stayed silent.

"I'll be the first to admit that I'm not Kaiju's biggest fan," said the White Devil. "But what kind of hero would I be if I just let anybody do what they want because I'm a little biased? I can just hear Lt. Yagami chewing me out now."

Once again, the thief remained silent, still pointing his laser project to the White Devil's head. She grimaced.

"Hello? You understand Japanese?" asked the White Devil awkwardly. "Er… Können Sie mich verstehen? Me entiendes ahora? Klaatu barada – bwah!"

The thief took a shot with his wrist mounted laser, firing a thin beam of red energy. The White Devil fell backwards, narrowly dodging the energy beam by a hair's breadth, and roll over the edge of the hospital roof. The White Devil straightened herself in the air and floated for a quick moment as she looked up. The thief had leapt over the edge of the roof with a running start and zoomed through the Uminari skyline; his pack created the same neon-red trail in his wake. The White Devil leaned forward, pushing out Mana through her feet, and rocketed after him with an echoing _boom_!

"Strong and silent type, eh?" The White Devil shouted after him. "Not as much fun, but I think I can work in a pun or two! Like um…hey, what's the rush, chatty? Ha! Nailed it!"

The armored thief, ignoring the White Devil's attempts at witty banter, turned a sharp left down a stretch between two buildings. The White Devil took the same turn, but couldn't decelerate in time and hit the concrete on one building and then bounced off the opposite side. The White Devil had never been more thankful for Yuuno's paranoia for adding extra padding to the Barrier Jacket; a crash like that would have killed her. Shaking off the blow, the White Devil did another quick boost to catch up to the flying thief, who turned another left at the building corner. This time, she had the sense to slow down before making the turn, but the moment she was around the corner, she saw the thief flying back towards her with his arm thrown out. The White Devil let out wheezing gasp as the thief clotheslined her across the chest and pushed her back into the side of the building with enough pressure to make a huge crack in the concrete. The White Devil coughed and held her chest, trying to catch her breath.

"That was…a cheap shot…and you know it," the White Devil wheezed.

The thief stayed silent as usual, only turning his back to the White Devil and flying off again. Taking a big gulp of air, the White Devil kicked off the wall, not caring that she completely wrecked the office of the guy behind it. With the thief in the lead and the White Devil following behind, both fliers zoomed up back and forth around and between the buildings of Uminari's Downtown District. The armored criminal maintained his lead over the White Devil at every corner, possessing an uncanny ability to make impossibly sharp turns without losing speed while the White Devil had to slow down just to avoid crashing. With every moment that the White Devil failed to catch up with the criminal, she started feeling more agitated.

The White Devil was never one to consider herself conceited, but the sky was her territory and she didn't want some…creep stealing that away from her. Around six office buildings and under a freeway, the White Devil managed to keep the thief in her sight, but the distance between them was growing wider by the second. Just one good turn, just one slip-up on the White Devil's part, and he would make his escape. She couldn't let that happen; the White Devil had lost enough of her pride as an aerial mage already.

The thief made steep dive towards street level and the White Devil followed. The armored criminal pulled up at the last second to avoid hitting the pavement and was now zipping down the road, dodging oncoming traffic. The White Devil stayed several feet above the traffic flow, watching the thief weave around cars and truck so easily, not at all feeling jealous that he was better than….White Devil took a deep breath, motioning two fingers across the air in front of her, forming eight Mana balls.

"**Divine Shooter!**" said Raising Heart.

Eight Mana balls were on target with the flying criminal, but barely even a few feet away from him, and suddenly they scattered into varying directions, exploding off of street signs and passing cars. Thankfully, the Mana balls were strong enough to cause any real damage; she didn't need to give Signum another reason to hunt her.

"What happened?" asked the White Devil confused.

"**It's the drag, Master,**" said Raising Heart. "**Target is moving at a rate of exceptionally high velocity and his suit has been specifically designed to reduce wind resistance. At that speed, the wind pressure is sliding over his body at an unprecedented rate, making it impossible for lighter-than-air assaults.**"

"So I can't hit him with magic now!" the White Devil screeched. "What else can go wrong?"

Almost as if he had heard her, the armored criminal turned around, flying backwards while expertly dodging traffic, and lifted his arms at the White Devil. Red beams shots from his wrists, hitting the White Devil square in the chest. The White Devil flailed out of the air and crashed on the windshield of the car below her; the car screeched off the road and collided with a lamppost, which fell over and smashed the car's roof. The White Devil pried herself from the cracked windshield and looked around, but the flying thief was already gone.

"Dang it!" yelled the White Devil, pounding her fist on the hood.

"Devil!"

And if things weren't bad enough, the car the that White Devil landed on just _happened_ to be Lt. Signum Yagami's squad car. The White Devil chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head, as Signum glared through the windshield.

"Hey, Siggy," said the White Devil nervously. "So…how's your day?"

* * *

Lt. Signum Yagami was still frowning as she walked in on the crime scene at Newport Enterprises. Not only had she failed to catch the White Devil when she had the chance, but her insurance company said they didn't cover superheroes. So, taking a deep breath, Signum walked around the room while her co-workers investigated the area. The crime scene was one of Newport Enterprise's computer labs and besides the obvious hole in the wall, nothing looked broken or out of place. This wasn't corporate sabotage, Signum thought. One of the sergeants was interrogating Marco Lawson, Mizuiro Kaiju's personal assistant, and the CEO himself was facing the hole in the wall, staring out into the distant sky.

"Mr. Kaiju," said Signum politely, walking up to him. "Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Ah, Captain Yagami," said Mizuiro, turning around. "I always have time for you. How is your sister? Is she feeling well?"

"Hayate is getting along," said Signum.

"That's good, that's good," said Mizuiro. "After what happened last year with her becoming paraplegic, I was a little concerned. But this is not the time or place for that. You wanted to ask me some questions, right?"

"Yes, I did," said Signum. "Getting straight to the point, it doesn't look like your lab was destroyed, so I can only assume that something was taken. Do you have any idea what it was?"

"That's actually the strangest thing," said Mizuiro. "After the explosion, I had Lawson do a quick inventory. I looked like whoever attack us had stolen a program from our Panacea Program."

"What exactly is the Panacea Program?" asked Signum.

"It's a revolutionary new idea our Head of Research, Dr. Scaglietti, came up with before he left the company," said Mizuiro. "The idea was to create a program that would detect foreign or diseased blood cells inside the human body, and then, using specialized nanotechnology, would expunge the diseased cells from the body and replace them with healthy blood cells. This was to essentially be the cure for all diseases including cancer and tuberculosis."

"I can see why anyone would want to steal it," said Signum. "But you said there was something funny about the robbery."

"There was," said Mizuiro. "When we did inventory, the only thing missing was the program we were going to use to locate the dangerous cells. Everything else was left alone. Without the extraction program, the detection function wouldn't serve any valuable purpose."

"Perhaps the thief was afraid of getting caught and left before he could take it," said Signum. "Any idea who would want to steal from you."

"I am one of the most successful business men in Japan," said Mizuiro. "I have hundreds of business rivals that would love to see me ruins: Tsukimura Enterprises, Alchemax, LexCorp, you name it."

"Well, that doesn't exactly narrow down our search," said Signum. "Don't worry, Mr. Kaiju, we'll do everything in our power to catch this guy."

"Oh, I have a good feeling that the thief will be caught," said Mizuiro. As Signum walked away, Mizuiro turned back to face the hole in the wall and continued in a low voice, "but I don't think it will be you who catches him."

Out of the corner of his eye, Mizuiro Kaiju caught a glimpse of white-and-blue before it disappeared around the corner.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, Nanoha fell back in the couch of Lindy's apartment as Raising Heart made calls to both Alisa and Suzuka, apologizing for her abrupt disappearance. For being one of the most successful captains of the Dimensional Navy, Lindy's taste in accommodations was surprisingly modest. She rarely splurged on anything beyond the essentials and since she started living on Earth, Lindy gained an appreciation for Japanese culture, especially its tea ceremonies. Sadly, she has yet to clue in that the Japanese do not drink green tea with large amounts of sugar, which made Nanoha's stomach churn every time she watched.

"I'm _really _sorry about this, guys," Nanoha said apologetically to Raisin Heart. "I really wanted to visit the Rabbit House with you. Honest."

"**It's okay, Nanoha,**" Suzuka said through Raising Heart. "**We understand. I hope Yuuno-kun is all right. Not a lot of ferrets can walk away from a fight with a bulldog, a stray cat, and a garden snake. Thank goodness he wasn't hurt too much.**"

"**I always thought Yuuno was a smart ferret,**" said Alisa. "**But he sure does a lot of dumb stuff. Remember last week when he put his tail in an electric outlet?**"

"**Or the week before that when he got a tummy ache from drinking a bottle of hot sauce**?" said Suzuka.

"**Or the week before that – **"

"Okay, I get it guys," said Nanoha, chuckling nervously with Yuuno the Ferret glaring at her from the table. "I'm sure Yuuno-kun will be fine. He's a tough little guy. Promise we'll go visit the Rabbit House next week, okay?"

"**All right, take care, Nanoha**," said Suzuka.

"**You're buying!**" Alisa demanded.

Raising Heart clicked off; Nanoha fell back into the cushions with a deep sigh.

"Why is it that all of your excuses involve me getting hurt?" said Yuuno.

"Because if I said it was my papa or onii-chan, they'd ask mama or onee-chan what happened," Nanoha answered like it was obvious. "Ne, Lindy-san, you found out anything about Tailwind yet?"

"Actually, I – Tailwind?" said Lindy, tilting her head at Nanoha.

"What? S.T.A.R. Labs can name their supervillains, but I can't?" said Nanoha. "I thought of Tailwind because he was so fast and it just sounds cool. So whatcha got on him."

"I didn't find anything on…Tailwind exactly," said Lindy. "But I have found a few news articles on six high-rise robberies taking place in major companies all over Japan over the past month, including the one from today. After some investigating, I found two connections between them: witness reports talk about a flying man fleeing from each scene and all the items stolen were related to Hematology."

Nanoha stared clueless.

"Blood science," Lindy explained. "Knowing this, it should be easier to narrow down his next target; not a lot of major companies specialize in the study of bloodwork. Just give me a moment to look around."

"Why would Tailwind go through all the trouble of stealing blood tech?" said Nanoha. "You think maybe he's sick and can't afford treatment and now he's stealing stuff to save himself. I feel kinda bad about beating him up then. Or maybe…maybe he's secretly a vampire! That's why he was wearing that suit; the sun would burn him otherwise."

"Pretty sure Tailwind is working for someone else," said Lindy. "The way he coordinates his thefts and the technology he used – these are way beyond anything Earth people could build. I would normally point out the Leviathan as the culprit, but the fact that Tailwind stole from him disproves that theory. And the suit itself – " Lindy narrowed her eyes, watching a video of the chase that had been taken by Raising Heart. "It definitely looks like Mid-Childan tech, but nothing I've ever seen before. Where did he get it?"

"I just want to know how I'll be able to catch him," said Nanoha. "Yuuno-kun, it's there some spell I can use to give me a supersonic boost or something?"

"There isn't a spell that can make you go faster," said Yuuno. "Well, there is, but you're body isn't strong enough to withstand the pressure of an A.C.S. just yet."

"Then there's no way for me to catch him?" said Nanoha in a whiny tone.

"I didn't say that," said Yuuno. "There are going to be many times in the future where you won't be able to defeat your opponent with straightforward methods. That's the time you need to resort to unconventional methods. What I'm saying is, rather than trying to outfly Tailwind, you need to outthink him."

"Outthink him, huh?" Nanoha hummed.

"Not to ruin this little moment you're having," said Lindy suddenly, "but I think I think might have found out where his next target is going to be. If he is still in Uminari City, then there is one company left that has a division working in hematology." She tapped her, bringing up an image of a large building with a giant 'A' on the screen. "Alchemax."

"That new company that sprung up six months ago?" said Nanoha. "Every time I fly by that building, I still can't believe they ripped off the Avengers logo."

"I've always thought it was strange how Alchemax just appeared out of nowhere and suddenly climbed to the top of the corporate world," said Lindy. "I also don't like how there are no public records of the CEO, Tyler Stone, prior to his appearance at Alchemax's opening. But we'll have to look into that further later. Right now, Alchemax is hosting an entire division devoted to Hematology and even has its own blood bank. I have no idea what they're doing with it, but if we follow the pattern, I can almost guarantee Tailwind will be there."

"And I'll be waiting for him," Nanoha said determined.

* * *

It was late that same day at Alchemax Headquarters and Tailwind had already made a decent headway into his job. Disabling the silent alarm was easy. Hacking the camera feed to loop, child's play. Flying to the twenty-third floor and searing a hole in the window; it was like Alchemax was inviting him to rob them for everything their worth.

Tailwind touched down inside the Hematology laboratory and wandered over to the far-side wall, where there were ten industrial freezers, each one marked from 'A' to 'Wo'. Tailwind opened the first freezer, freezing cold air flowing over his suit, and found rows upon rows of tiny test tubes, each filled with a frozen blood samples. Tailwind scanned the rows, sorting through unnecessary samples, until he found what he needed. He took the sample out of the rack and closed the door, inspecting his target in the moonlight. There was a label on the side of it: **B-7-33-D**. Nodding to himself, Tailwind started to pocket the sample when – "

"You know…"

Tailwind jumped; the blood sample slipped out of his fingers and smashed on the floor as he spun around to the window where the White Devil was floating with her arms crossed.

"If you don't want people to think you're a thief," said the White Devil, "don't dress like a thief."

Tailwind threw up his arm as his wrist-mounted laser was charging. The White Devil beat him to it; she fired a Divine Shot through the window, blasting the laser cannon off his suit. Ripping off the now useless laser, Tailwind took a running start at another window and smashed his way through the glass, shooting off into the city skyline, leaving a red blur in his wake.

"Hey, you gonna pay for that?" The White Devil shouted as she chased after him. "That is _so _not coming out of my allowance!"

The White Devil stayed close behind Tailwind as he started weaving between the buildings, trying to lose her around the corners like he did last time. However, the White Devil decided against following him at the turns and instead maintained a straight path while keeping an eye on Tailwind from afar. As Tailwind winded around another corner, he suddenly stopped in front of the White Devil with his remaining laser cannon charged and fired a ballistic barrage of red beams. The White Devil eye's went wide and quickly stopped herself in midair, throwing out her hand.

"**Round Shield!**" said Raising Heart.

The pink barrier appeared just in time to block the shots, but when the White Devil looked back at Tailwind, he had already taken off with a sizable gap between them. The White Devil quickly shot after him, but there was no way she was going to catch up to him at this rate.

"Ugh, it's no use," the White Devil groaned. "He's too fast! I'll never be able to catch him the way I am now….But maybe I don't have to. Like Yuuno-kun said, I shouldn't try to outfly him, I need to outthink him."

The White Devil took a sharp left behind the next building.

Tailwind zoomed sharply around the corner and speeded down the avenue, passing both Tsukimura Enterprise Headquarters and the police station; every stared up wide-eyed as he passed. Not hearing the usual annoying ramblings, Tailwind spun around, flying backwards as he looked down the street. The White Devil was nowhere to be seen. Tailwind silently nodded; it looked like he had finally given the little demon the sl –

_**Wham!**_

A powerful blow struck Tailwind in the back of the head, sending him spiraling down to the street. Passersby quickly sprinted off the sidewalk as the flying thief bounced off the pavement and slammed into a lamppost, causing it to bend awkwardly. Tailwind shook his head and looked up to see what had hit him. He visible stiffened; the White Devil was floating overhead with her arms crossed and a confident gleam in her eyes.

"Should have paid attention to where you were going," said the White Devil. "Remember kids, always keep your eyes ahead when driving or being hunted down by magical girls."

**This message was brought to you by the Society for the Awareness Magical Girl.  
**

Tailwind shook his head and quickly zoomed off into the sky again, sliding past the White Devil and taking a sharp right down the road. The White Devil didn't chase after him; she glided down a street in the opposite direction.

Tailwind zipped around an apartment complex, dived under a freeway overpass, and squeezed his way through a narrow opening between two buildings before turning down a dingy alleyway. Tailwind made certain not to look back and check on the White Devil; his eyes were firmly locked on the path ahead. But because he was focused on moving forward, he failed to notice the White Devil coming in from the side until she shoulder tackled him into the wall, leaving human-shaped imprint in the bricks. Tailwind stared down at the White Devil pressing against his chest; her eyes shined with mirth. He pushed her away and made a direct shot upwards; the White Devil flew down a nearby lane.

Once he was above the buildings, he sharply turned in the air and speeded in the direction of the docks. There was plenty of open space above the ocean; if he made it past the ports, there would be no way she could catch him by surprise. However, he had barely managed to reach the edge of the harbor when he suddenly stopped in mid-air. He felt a strong tug that kept him in place and looked down; a pink chain of energy was constricted around his right leg connecting to the roof of the building below him. Tailwind reached down and pulled as hard as he could on the energy chains, but they wouldn't break.

Tailwind heard someone clear their throat above him and apprehensively turned around. The White Devil was floating a small distance away from him. It took him a moment before Tail realized that she was floating outside a perfect sphere of at least forty to fifty Divine Orbs, all of them lined up in the air with no openings for him to escape.

"As much as I hate to admit it," said the White Devil, "but when it comes to flying, you're better than me in every way. But even though you may be faster than me, I've lived in Uminari City my entire life. I've memorized the entire layout; every street every shortcut are all memorized up here," she added, tapping the side of her head. "All I had to do was cut you off at every turn until you were desperate enough to think you would be in the clear once you reached the water, where I had already set my trap up beforehand."

"**Cluster charge ready!**" said Raising Heart.

"You're in for it now!" shouted the White Devil, aiming Raising Hearts head at Tailwind. "Raising Heart, fire!"

"**Sacred Cluster!**" said Raising Heart.

The sphere of Divine Shots struck from every direction all at once and the best Tailwind could do was throw up his arms as the Mana orbs exploded around him. The rapid succession of explosives took a full minute to complete, which even Nanoha though may have been a little over-the-top. The explosions eventually subsided, leaving a large cloud of black smoke floating in the air. Then a red-and-black blur dropped from the bottom of the cloud and landed on the roof below with a loud _crash_.

The White Devil floated down to the rooftop, tilting her head curiously. Tailwind's suit had sustained heavily damage; several areas of the black hexagon material were either chipped or missing completely. His jetpack was sparking and large puffs of smoke were coming out of it. A chunk of his helmet was missing, showing a tuft of blonde hair underneath. Tailwind looked like he was trying to move, but either his body was too weak from the attack, or the damaged suit paralyzed his movements.

"Doesn't look like you're going anywhere soon, Mr. Tailwind," said the White Devil, taking a seat next to the villain. "I already sent an anonymous tip to our favorite police lieutenant, so they'll be here any moment. While we wait for them, mind telling me who you were working for?"

"Forget it, Devil!" said Tailwind; his voice was very high-pitched and unnaturally squeaky. "You ain't getting a thing out of me!"

The White Devil stared at him...then she burst into laughter.

"Stop laughing! I'm being serious here!" shrieked Tailwind angrily.

"I-I know!" said the White Devil, laughing uncontrollably. "But that-that voice is-is-it's so unfitting!"

"Grr…I won't forget this, Devil," Tailwind declared. "One day, I swear I'm going to – STOP LAUGHING!"

The White Devil couldn't stop. Neither did the police when they arrested him.

* * *

The White Devil went back to Lindy's apartment later that night to celebrate her victory over Tailwind. Nanoha was so proud of her achievement that she was able to choke down Lindy's over sweetened green tea.

"Excellent work out there, Nanoha," Yuuno complimented. "You overcame a tough enemy tonight and you did it by thinking things through."

"I've always been proud of my flying skills," said Nanoha, "but tonight reminded me that they're not my only strength. For now on, I'm going to work hard to improve myself in all of my skills so I can be a better hero."

"That's the spirit, Nanoha," said Yuuno.

"Did Tailwind ever say who hired him?" asked Lindy.

"He didn't know," said Nanoha. "The guy who hired him sent everything anonymously: the suit, the weapons, the money, even detailed schematics of the security and floor plans of all his targets. And he made sure that everything he sent couldn't be traced back to him. Whoever this guy is, he's extremely thorough."

"I can't help but wonder," said Lindy, taking a sip from her mug. "Who could possibly benefit from stealing blood related technology?"

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Alchemax Hematology Laboratory, the blood sample of test tube **B-7-33-D **stained on the floor, glimmering with a sinister shade of crimson under the moonlight.

And then it crawled away into the drain.

* * *

**Yukari Tamura: **The city trembles in the wake of a new adversary and a young girl finds herself pressed into a dangerous situation. But help comes from an unlikely ally; a child who has lost her freedom to touch the Earth. But her mind stretches beyond the limitations of her body and reaches out to help another. Next time on the White Devil…

**Did the Earth Shake (nano)?**

**Nanoha: **Magical! Lyrical! I'll do my best!


	4. Did the Earth Shake (nano)?

**The White Devil**

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha © Masaki Tsuzuki  
All Characters © Respective Owners.

* * *

**Lyrical Record 3: Did the Earth Shake (nano)?**

Signum was grateful that for once there wasn't a major arms trade that needed to be busted or some over-the-top supervillain robbing banks. The most trouble that was happening in Uminari City was the occasional jaywalker and litter bug. And best of all, she had not seen hide nor pink death beam of the White Devil. Signum was in a good mood for a change; the Chief of Police – a man Signum held with great respect – had insisted that Signum take the day off after all her hard work. Signum wasn't about to complain; she was always saying how she had Hayate never spend time together.

Signum's eyes wandered over the menu in front of her, still trying to decide what she wanted. She and Hayate chose to have lunch at the family restaurant they had frequented before Signum joined the force. Signum peeked over the menu at her sister. People always said they looked nothing alike and that couldn't be any more true. Signum had a tough, rigid face and long pink hair while Hayate was naturally soft and a bob of chestnut hair topping her head. Another difference that her co-workers liked to point out was Hayate's vast intelligence compared to her sister, already having two degrees in both mechanical and computer sciences.

Signum hid her face behind her menu so that Hayate wouldn't see big sister pouting.

"You know, it's nice that we get to spend the day together," Hayate piped up. "It's been way too long since we had a sister's day out. What with you working long hours at the UCPD and me working on my latest patents – "

"How many does that make, anyway?" asked Signum curiously.

"Uh…somewhere between forty and fifty," said Hayate, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.

"I get the feeling I should be ashamed that my little sister makes more money than I do," said Signum.

"Not everyone can have an IQ of two-twenty," Hayate said smugly. "But look on the bright side: being a police officer has some benefits that being a child prodigy doesn't. Like…you can drive a car, tackle people to the ground, find out who the White Devil is, get free donuts – "

"What was that?" said Signum sharply.

"Get free donuts?" said Hayate, feigning innocence.

"Before that," said Signum. She sighed tiredly, rest her forehead in had palm. "Hayate, I told you before, I don't want you to get involved with that White Devil girl. It's dangerous."

"It's not dangerous," Hayate argued pointedly. "I'm trapped in the house for most of the day, so the most I can do is watch through the television or computer screen. It's not like I'm going to go off running in the middle of a firefight when the White Devil's name is mentioned...As if I could run anywhere in the first place."

"I'm just worried that if you stick your nose in where it doesn't belong, you're gonna get hurt," said Signum. "There are a lot of people who would want to know who the White Devil is and wouldn't be afraid to beat a little crippled girl for answers. I'm worried that your obsession will get you into more trouble than it's worth."

"It's not an obsession," said Hayate, pouting. "I'm just naturally curious. All geniuses are."

"All right, Professor Amari, figure out what you want," said Signum, dropping her eyes back on the menu. "It's my day off and I'd rather not spend it talking about – "

_**CRASH!**_

Almost as if on cue, the White Devil came crashing through the window the family restaurant, falling flat on her back on Signum and Hayate's table. The White Devil moaned painfully; her left sleeve had been ripped off and the dizziness in her eyes might have been signs of a concussion. Signum and Hayate only stared at the downed superhero, both at a loss for words. After a moment, the White Devil shook her head free of the dizziness and became aware of her position. She stared awkwardly at Hayate, turned her head, then stared awkwardly at Signum, chuckling nervously.

"Hey, Siggy…," said the White Devil anxiously. "Heard it was your day off. So, how's it going?"

"It was fine until you showed up," said Signum blandly.

"Gomen, gomen," the White Devil apologized.

"Whoa, it's the White Devil!" said Hayate, starry-eyed. "Devil, I have so many questions to want to ask you."

Before the White Devil could say anything, a hand appeared through the broken window and grabbed her by the ankle.

"I'll have to get back to you on tha – WHA!" screamed the White Devil.

The White Devil was ripped back outside, shattering any remainder of the window; Signum and Hayate leaned forward and stared.

The White Devil flew across the street, breaking through a steel lamppost before smashing into the wall of the building behind it. Her vision was fuzzy; she could hear the screams of the people on the streets running away. She blinked a few moments to restore her blurred vision, slowly lifting her head, and gasped as her enemy lifted her off the ground by her collar and slammed her into the wall again.

Grimacing, the White Devil looked down at the man. He looked no different than the usual common street crooks she caught on a daily basis: black jeans and combat boots with a matching ski mask. Though he made an effort to stand out from the rest by wear a bulky, dark purple coat that was clearly made to be extra padded. But his gloves were the most unnatural part about him: they looked like an ordinary pair of black gloves, but there each had a purple crystal on the back of the hand and sent neon-purple lines down each finger….They almost looked like….

The criminal slammed the White Devil into the wall again, leaving her imprint in the bricks, then threw her over his shoulder into the street, smashing her into the side of a parked car. The White Devil groaned and rubbed her head as the crook stood over her, laughing smugly.

"Yeah, that's right, feel it, Devil!" The criminal boasted. "You think you're so tough, but you ain't tough! You know why? 'Cause I'm better than you! You hear that, Devil! Better!"

"You sure talk big for a guy who got busted robbing a convenience store," said the White Devil.

"Shut it, twerp!" said the criminal. "I'ma gonna pound you into the ground! Then everyone in this city'll know that Seismic is the big boss 'round here!"

"Seismic? That's what you're going for?" said the White Devil teasingly. "Sure, it's better than what most villains come up for

\\\themselves, but it seems a little…half-baked, don't you think?"

"You…you…shut up!" Seismic yelled defensively.

Seismic kneeled down and slammed his palms into the street. The jewels on the back of his gloves glowed; The White Devil winced as a high-pitched whistle filled her ears. The street suddenly cracked beneath Seismic's hands and large slabs of concrete started to stick out from the ground in a perfect line towards her. The White Devil shot up out of the way; the rising fragments pierced through the frame of the car, which exploded into a great ball of fire.

"I'm not paying for that!" shouted the White Devil.

"**Master, the enemy's weapon emits a powerful vibrational resonance**," said Raising Heart. "**Barrier Jacket stability estimated to withstand direct assault for sixteen seconds. Evasion is advised.**"

"So just stay out of the way; got it," said the White Devil simply. "Not a problem. If I can't beat him up close, then I'll nail him from here. **Divine Shooter!**"

The White Devil wove her Intelligence Device in an arc, shaping an even dozen pink Mana balls sent flying to street level. Seismic shot up to his feet and held his hands to the sky; the jewels of his gloved glowed and the same whistling sounds filled the air. To the White Devil's shock, her Mana sphere became distorted and erratic shortly before they exploded, several feet in the air from Seismic.

"He can shoot them in the air, too?" The White Devil gapped.

Seismic raised his head to the White Devil – obvious mirth shining in his eyes – and cupped his hands together. The White Devil pulled back and threw up a barrier between them as soon as the high-pitched whistle reached her ears. Her Round Shield quivered from the vibrations pounding repeated against the surface; The White Devil pushed back to stabilize it. But with one fist hand shooting for the White Devil, Seismic slapped his free hand on the street. His gloves whistled; a jagged crack ripped through the concrete, making its way towards a small business office on the other side. The crack climbed up the wall until it reached to the roof and ripped off the corner piece of the building, dropping down on top of the few civilians who had not cleared the area.

"NO!" The White Devil cried.

She knew that Seismic was setting her up, but she didn't care; her first priority to the people. The White Devil dropped her barrier and dived to the street, narrowly dodging the vibro-blast with only a nick in her shoulder.

The people were scattering like cockroaches; every one of them pushing each other out of the way. One unfortunate businesswoman was shoved to the ground her co-worker; her ankle twisted to an awkward position and fell down on the sidewalk. She flipped around as the roof fragment came closer and closed her eyes, waiting for the moment of impact. She heard a loud crash, but she didn't feel hurt. She opened her eyes slowly and, to her immense relief, the White Devil was standing right next to her, her arms raised to the air with a magical barrier separating them from the falling debris. With a grunt of effort, the White Devil tilted her barrier sideways and dropped the roof chunk onto the curb. The White Devil bended over, her hands on her knees, panting hard.

"Hey…you all right?" said the White Devil. The woman couldn't speak, only nod. "Well, that's g – "

A loud whistle cut her off; the White Devil was suddenly hit with the force of a speeding train, smashing her throw the wall. The White Devil groaned weakly, buried underneath a pile of dust and concrete slabs. Her vision blurred and her ears still ringing, the White Devil tried to push the debris off of her, but Seismic suddenly appeared and pressed his foot on top of the pile, pinning her down. Seismic chuckled darkly with one hand directly in the White Devil's face; she could hear the jewels of his gloves charging up.

"You know the problem with you hero types?" said Seismic arrogantly. "You care about people and look where it got ya. I always look out for number one and only number one. Now then – " he turned the jewel on his glove; the neon lights glowed brighter " - ever wonder what happens when you vibrate a person's skull at eight thousand Gs?"

White Devil glared at Seismic as the charge reached its highest pitch. Seismic stretched out his hand and –

_**BANG!**_

A gunshot pierced the atmosphere; Seismic cried out, falling over to the side, clutching his right leg. The White Devil took the opportunity to push the rubble off of her and focused her attention to the hole in the wall. Signum was standing outside with a smoking pistol in her hand and a menacing leer that the White Devil had come to familiarize herself with. The White Devil turned over to Seismic. It looked like Signum had shot him in the calf; blood was trickling down the leg of his pants.

Seismic glared at Signum and held his hand out at her. The White Devil responded quickly and ducked out through the hole, grabbing Signum before Seismic released another vibro-shot. She and Signum collapsed in the middle of the street and turned around sharply, propping themselves up by their arms. Seismic had dropped the second floor over the hole in the building, most likely meaning he had escaped already. Signum swore loudly; innocent little Nanoha pretended not to hear it.

"Thanks for the help back there, Lieutenant," said the White Devil, standing up and brushing herself off. She offered a hand to Signum, but the police lieutenant stood up on her own, holstering her weapon. "Do you always carry a gun when you're off-duty?"

"For protection," said Signum. "You can never be too safe, especially in a strange city like the one we live in. So – " she crossed her arms, giving the tiny hero her signature scowl "- are you going to explain what that was all about?"

"The guy calls himself Seismic – a half-baked name if I ever heard one," said the White Devil. "He uses some kind of advanced tech in his gloves that manipulate vibrations, both in the ground and in the air. I was doing patrol a couple of blocks down the road when I caught him trying to rob a convenience store. _A convenience store_!Can you believe that? That kind of firepower and he's robbing teenagers with acne problems for seventeen hundred yen."

"With that kind of technology, do you think he's working for the Leviathan?" asked Signum.

"Not unless Leviathan is hard for cash that he would knock over mini-marts," said the White Devil. "No, the Leviathan wouldn't just hand out advanced tech to petty street thieves. I want to say that Seismic is on his own, but the technology he used is way too advanced for anything made on Earth – it's way too precise. Someone must have given the tech to him. But who?"

"What about that guy Tailwind was working for?" The White Devil and Signum looked over as Hayate rolled up to them in her wheelchair. "That is his name, right? Tailwind? He was packing some major tech and he definitely wasn't working for the Leviathan. Maybe the same guy who hired him also hired Seismic."

"You're Signum's little sister, aren't you?" said the White Devil. "Hayate Yagami, right?"

"You heard of me?" said Hayate, grinning brightly.

"You've been trying to hack into my systems for seven months," said the White Devil dryly. "You're the reason I have to reset everything once a week to make sure you have wormed your way into anything. I won't hold back in saying you're a regular pain in my butt."

"Aw, thanks," said Hayate brightly like she had been complimented. "I've been dying to meet you for so long; I have so many questions I want to ask. For starters – "she snatched Raising Heart despite the Devil's protests – "everyone thinks that this is just a magic wand. But I think differently. I think this is actually an omega-level advanced supercomputer through which you input high-level mathematic equations that form the basis of you 'spells', so to speak. Am I right? Am I?"

"Yes…and it's a little frightening how well you figured that out," said the White Devil, taking back Raising Heart. "Look, thanks for your view on the situation, but I don't think you should get involved in this."

"I was thinking the same thing," said Signum sternly.

"I'll look more into any possible connection between Seismic and Tailwind," said the White Devil. "But from now on, try minding your own business before you end up getting hurt, Hayate."

And with that being said, the White Devil kicked off the ground and took off into the sky, flying out of sight over the Uminari skyline. As Hayate watched her hero fly off, Signum walked around her sister, grabbing the handlebars of her wheelchair and pushing her down the road.

"I don't normally agree with the White Devil on a lot of things," said Signum, "but whereas your safety is concerned, our interests align. Please, Hayate, for your sake, try to curb your curiosity before you find yourself in a situation you can't get out of."

"Mou, fine," said Hayate, pouting with her arms crossed.

"Don't act like that; I'm just worried about you is all," said Signum. Hayate continued to pout; she sighed exasperatedly. "Just…try to be careful is all I'm saying. Spend your time with other things than chasing after the White Devil…like….You made a new friend yesterday, right? Suzuka Tsukimura? Maybe you two could do something together."

"Well….Suzuka-chan _did _invite me to meet some of her friends at this little café tomorrow," said Hayate.

"Perfect," said Signum, smiling. "What's the name of the café?"

"Midori-ya."

* * *

Nanoha's ears were still ringing when she went to work the next day. Disappoint filled her mind when she remembered how she spent the entire afternoon yesterday looking for Seismic and she hadn't seen hide nor tacky coat of him. Seismic must have been born and raised in Uminari City, Nanoha thought; it was the only way she could explain him escaping without leaving a trail. To think that a guy like him would….Nanoha shook her head and slapped her cheek lightly. She needed to give the White Devil business a break for a while; Nanoha Takamachi needed to go to work.

Nanoha brushed the flour off her apron as her dad started clean the bowls and pans, grabbed the basket of freshly made bread, and backed her way out to the front of the store. There were only a handful of customers today; most of them were regulars that Nanoha had seen from time to time.

The café that her family owned, Midori-ya, was a small shop away from Uminari's commercial district, so they didn't get a ton of customers, but a lot of people around town knew Shiro Takamachi, Nanoha's father and the owner of the shop, so business was never terrible. With the exception of her older brother, who was attending university, everyone in Nanoha's family worked the shop. Her mother, Momoko, would always work the register while her dad would work in the kitchen. Nanoha's sister, Miyuki, would always insist on working in front, claiming her feminine appeal would draw in a new crowd….If she were in her White Devil persona, Nanoha would be very tempted to poke fun at that.

As Nanoha started loading the bread inside the display case, the bell above the door rang and she winced; her ears were in a sensitive state right now. Nanoha looked over the counter; Alisa had walked in.

"Hey, Nanoha," said Alisa.

"Hey, Alisa-chan," said Nanoha. "Suzuka-chan's not with you today?"

"Nah, she had to stop somewhere first," said Alisa. "She said she was bringing over a new friend she met at the library the other day."

"She made a new friend?" said Nanoha. "Who am I kidding? Of course she did; Suzuka is too ice not to be friends with. Of course, some people are too insensitive to see how sweet she is at first."

"I said I was sorry, all right!" snapped Alisa. "You slapped me anyway, so I think we're even. Speaking of which – " she looked around shiftily, leaning close so that only Nanoha could hear – "you hear about what happened downtown yesterday? The White Devil got slammed around by some street thug calling himself Seismic; smashed my favorite family restaurant."

"The White Devil did get slapped around!" Nanoha said defensively. "I mean….She was probably just luring him into a false sense of security; examining his strengths and weaknesses before making a big comeback."

"Yeah, that does sound like something the White Devil would do," said Alisa thoughtfully; Nanoha sighed in relief.

The bell over the door rang and Nanoha instinctively turned to greet the customers.

"Welcome to the – GERK!" Nanoha choked.

Alisa stared at her strangely for her reaction. It was only Suzuka, smilingly brightly as she always did, pushing a wheelchair carefully through the door. It was the person inside the wheelchair that concerned Nanoha. Hayate Yagami looked around Midori-ya with a placid sort of interest, taking in the different sights and smells the small café had to offer. Nanoha quickly ducked her head and went back to putting bread in the display case when Hayate's eyes wandered in her direction. The last thing she needed was for Lt. Yagami's intellectually superior sister to deduce her identity just by looking into her eyes; maybe she should consider wearing colored contacts from now on.

"Hello, Nanoha, Alisa," said Suzuka sweetly. "I want you to meet my new friend."

"My name is Hayate Yagami," said Hayate politely, bowing as head. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope we can become good friends."

"Hello, Hayate," said Alisa kindly. "My name's Alisa Bannings."

"Er…Nanoha Takamachi," said Nanoha, purposely not looking at her. "It's a pleasure to um…meet you."

"Yagami…Yagami…," Alisa hummed thoughtfully. "Hey, you aren't related to that police woman that's always chasing after the White Devil are you?"

"She my big sister," said Hayate, chuckling. "Yeah, she has a thing against the White Devil, but I don't think she hates her as much as she says she does. She knows that the White Devil is just trying to help out, even if she doesn't always play by the rules. I personally think the White Devil is a great person."

"I know, right?" said Alisa eagerly. "The White Devil is the best thing that ever happened to Uminari City! She's so cool and mysterious and those little pink things she shoots at the bad guys are so cute!"

Nanoha sweatdropped. Did Alisa just call her magical pink beams of death _cute_?

"Well, we should probably find a table," said Suzuka, wheeling Hayate's chair around. "Are you going to get off soon, Nanoha. We'd really like for you to join us."

"Ooh…I'd really like to, but…" said Nanoha, looking for an excuse, "but I have a ton of work I need to be doing. You know, doing the dishes, wiping the tables, making sure papa doesn't cut himself – "

"Don't be silly, Nanoha," said Momoko. "We can handle ourselves fine without you. Take the rest of the day off; spend some time with your friends."

_Curse you, mama,_ Nanoha thought, dreading the idea of spending any time with Hayate Yagami. Of all the people Suzuka could have possibly met at the library, it had to be the girl with a supercomputer for a brain. With a soft groan, Nanoha dutifully took off her apron and hanged it up on the hook on the wall, walked around the counter, and made her way to Alisa and Suzuka's favorite table at the front of the café. It seemed that Hayate had just finished telling a funny joke because Suzuka was giggling behind her hands and Alisa had flattened herself on the table, banging her fist on the surface.

"Hey, I have to clean those, you know!" said Nanoha.

"Gomen…gomen…" Alisa apologized, wiping a tear from her eye. "Hayate…Hayate was just…just telling us…about the fight from yesterday. You know, the one with the White Devil and that Seismic weirdo."

"Oh…and what did she say exactly?" said Nanoha straight-faced.

"Just about how the White Devil busted him for robbing a mini-mart," said Hayate, snorting behind her hand. "I mean, what kind of a supervillain steals from the same place I buy my lunch? That's like trying to…well…like trying to rob this place – no offense intended or anything, Nanoha. And then the White Devil…she made this joke about his name, but I can't remember what she said exactly. Man, I wish I had brought Rein with me."

"Who's Rein?" asked Alisa.

"Oh, that's right, I haven't introduced you yet," said Hayate with a sudden realization. "Hang on a moment, let me just…."

Hayate leaned over and reached underneath her wheelchair, pulling out a computer tablet. She fiddled with the tablet for a moment before setting it down on the table; Nanoha, Alisa, and Suzuka leaned in curiously. One moment, the screen was black. Then the next, a sky-blue background appeared and a girl appeared on the screen. The girl reminded Nanoha of a pixie – small and impish-looking, long silvery-blue hair with one lock in clips like Hayate, and dressed in a white and blue dressed that, oddly enough, bared a striking resemblance to the Belkan armor Nanoha had seen in Lindy's history books. But that was just a coincidence, right….Right?

"Hello," said the girl on the screen, waving up at them. "I am Reinforce Zwei, Mistress Hayate's personal Artificial Intelligence program. Please take good care of my mistress – " she bowed on screen – "and I hope we can all become good friends."

"Whoa, that is so cool!" Alia shouted excitedly. "Where'd you get it?"

"First off, Rein isn't an 'it', Rein is a 'she'," said Hayate sternly. "And second, I didn't buy her. I made her myself."

"NO WAY!"

"Hayate, you must be super genius," said Suzuka admirably.

"Well, I wouldn't call myself a genius," said Hayate, obviously enjoying the praise. "But you can say it if you like. Feel free to tell your friends."

"It's nice to see all that talent didn't go to your head," Nanoha said sarcastically. "But I got to admit, it's pretty cool how you were able to build your own A.I. program by yourself. I think it's a safe bet to say that you might be the only preteen girl in the world who could do that. So, Rein – " she leaned down over the tablet – "what do you do for Hayate-chan?"

"Oh, I do lots of things for my mistress," said Rein happily. "I sort through all her e-mails, back-up all her data on a daily basis, double check all of her thesis papers, monitor for viruses and malware, keep track of all her patents, and regularly update her White Devil files."

"Her what?" said Nanoha, shocked.

"You have files on the White Devil?" Alisa gasped. "Do you know who she is?"

"Not yet, but I'm getting close," said Hayate, spinning the tablet around to face her. "Rein, bring up all basic profiling pages on the White Devil. Nothing too much, just enough to give everyone a good idea what we know."

"Hai, Mistress," said Rein, saluting.

The little pixie AI floated around the screen of the tablet, stopped next to a folder in the background labeled "WHITE DEVIL" in bold print. Rein pulled the folder out of place and started leafing through the information inside as if she were searching through a file cabinet. Whenever she found one of the pages she was looking for, she toss it out and the page would rapidly expand into a window filled with a few pictures and a ton of notes, all meticulously categorized and dated. When she was done riffling through the folder, Rein was floating around three pages worth of information, all pertaining to the White Devil.

"This is all the information Mistress gathered over the past ten months," said Rein, floating over to the first window. "The White Devil was first officially reported in August of 2014 after she prevented an attempted kidnapping against Miss Tsukimura, but no photograph evidence was proved until October of 2014 when a group of high school students happened to get a picture of the White Devil breaking up a group of Leviathan henchmen smuggling weapons into Japan. Police denied any reports of the White Devil, citing her to be an urban myth, until Christmas of 2014 when an American terrorist named Anarky attempted to destroy three densely populated sites with illegal bombs, including the Uminari City police station. The White Devil successfully defused all three bombs and detained Anarky. The report was made by Sgt. Yagami, who received a promotion to Lt. shortly after."

Rein closed the window and moved over to the next page, which had mugshots and information of several familiar faces.

"This is the information of the White Devil's 'Rogue Galley', so to speak," said Rein. "The White Devils has apprehended more than a hundred criminals over the past year, but Mistress removed any data on the common criminals such as purse snatchers and car thieves. All the information present are people who Mistress feel are worth noting, such as – " she scrolled down to Ravager's picture "Rose Wilson AKA Ravager – mercenary/hired killer – daughter of the late Slade Wilson AKA Deathstroke – impaired vision in left eye – physically and mentally augmented to human capacity – " she scrolled down to Gregory Gordon's picture – "Gregory Gordon, no alias – former lieutenant coronel of the German military – dishonorably discharged for desertion and murder of innocent civilians – currently employed as an enforcer for the Leviathan – " she scrolled down to Tailwind's picture " – Gabriel Ciel AKA Tailwind – former aerospace engineer fired due to – "

"I think they get the idea, Rein," Hayate interrupted. "No need to go into every little detail."

"Oh, sorry, Mistress," said Rein, blushing in embarrassment. She closed the window and floated over to the last page. "This is a detailed profiling of the White Devil that Mistress believes will help identify the White Devil. As you can see by these notes, the White Devil is able to coordinate through Uminari City without losing track of her position, leading Mistress to believe she was born and raised in the city. Given her height, weight, and vocal pitch, she is estimated to be around the age of nine and twelve. Her uniform bears many similarities to the girl's uniforms of Seishou Elementary School with a number of altercations, leading to the possible conclusion that the White Devil may be a student."

"Wait, that's our school," Suzuka gasped. "You think she might be one of our classmates?"

"Based on all the data I gathered," said Hayate, "there is a 78.46 percent chance that it is possible."

"The White Devil goes to our school," said Alisa giddily, unnecessarily shaking Nanoha by the shoulder. "Maybe she's even in the same class as us. Wouldn't that be so cool?"

"Yeah…cool," said Nanoha, biting her lip anxiously.

She knew that Hayate was getting close to finding out her identity, but it wasn't until now that she realized just how close she was. Everything in the reports was true: she lived in Uminari her entire life, she was ten years old, and she was a fourth grader at Seishou Elementary School. Nanoha had hoped for a year that no one would make the connection between her Barrier Jacket and her school uniform; she would have made it differently, but she was in a state of emergency back then and didn't have time to think about what to wear. Now that was coming back to bite her in the butt. As she thumbed Raising Heart through her shirt, Nanoha had a thought. Maybe if she could ask Raising Heart to hack into Hayate's tablet, then –

Her father suddenly came hurrying out of the kitchen with a cell phone to his ear. Nanoha and her friends, along with her mother and sister, turned and stared as her father reached for the remote to the small TV in the corner of the café, which they hardly ever used except when big news was on. Nanoha had a bad feeling."

"Yeah, I got it, just hurry home, all right," Shiro said before hanging up. "That was Kyouya. He said to turn on the news right away."

Shiro pressed the remote and everyone in the café turned their heads to the TV screen as the Uminari City News came on.

" – _activity at the Uminari City Financial Bank as yet another costumed criminal is attempting to attack our fair city. This masked menace, calling himself Seismic, attacked the bank in broad daylight and has taken hostages. The UCPD has made attempts to rescue the hostages, but the police have been unable to enter the building due to them – and I am reading an actual quote from the police in question – literally getting the wind knocked out of them. We go live to – _"

"Looks like Seismic's back again," said Hayate. "Guess he decided hitting up mini-marts wasn't worth the effort. Hopefully the White Devil shows up soon….Hey, Nanoha, are you okay? You looked kinda nervous."

Of course Nanoha was nervous; she was in a precarious position. She needed to get out of the shop and put on her Barrier Jacket, but she couldn't think of an excuse to give on such short notice. If she didn't make it sound good, then Hayate would definitely know something was up. And then it would be a hop and a skip away from figuring out she was the White Devil. She needed to think of something…something like…"

"Hey, Nanoha," Shiro called from across the café. "Do you mind running to the market from a little while? I ran out of yeast and I need to make a fresh batch of bread for tomorrow. Make sure to bring back the receipt this time, okay?"

"Er…yes, papa!" said Nanoha; a feeling of relief washing over her. "Sorry to cut today short, but I really should get back to work. It was nice meeting you, Hayate-chan."

"Yeah…," said Hayate slowly, watching Nanoha run out the door with a brow raised. "Nice meeting you too…"

* * *

The UCPD were in a very complicated dilemma in Signum's opinion as she pressed herself against the wall next to the Financial Bank's now shattered glass doors. The UCPD had surrounded the building with squad cars, blockaded the streets, and positioned a sniper on the roof, hoping to get a good shot through the bank's skylight. They had sent a squad in through the back entrance five minutes prior, but they were all quickly incapacitated and added to the growing number of hostages. Signum had dealt with bank robbers before and they were usually armed with guns and bombs – one shot to the knee was all it took to incapacitate them. But she was pretty sure they had never covered loud-mouth narcissists with futuristic vibro-gloves back in the academy.

One of her co-workers crawled along the wall on the opposite side of the door, leaning in around the busted window. Signum hissed loudly and gestured him to pull back, only to face-palm herself a moment later; the idiot had been knocked out by another vibro-blast. Taking a deep breath, she poked her head around the corner and pulled sharply back a second later, narrowly avoiding the shockwave. She managed to get a small peek of the inside. Seismic was inside – like there was any doubt before – and the hostages were all huddle into a corner. The bank vault was open, but it didn't look like Seismic was making an effort to steal anything; this was grandstanding.

"What's the hold up, ya cotton candy-haired pig?" shouted Seismic. "Poke that pretty little head out so I can blow it off!"

"You know this isn't going to end well for you!" yelled Signum. "Let the hostages go and surrender while you have the chance! I'm not going to ask twice!"

"Ooh, I'm shakig in my boots," Seismic said mockingly. "Tell ya what, I owe ya for shooting me yesterday, so I'm gonna make a deal. If you throw away your gun and step out, nice and easy-like, I'll let these losers go in exchange for you. I'm betting you're worth a lot more than some idiot clerks and a couple cop-pigs who don't even know where the front end of a gun is."

"You're not really going to let them go, are you?" said Signum.

"Who knows?" Seismic answered, laughing. "But can you afford not to trust me?"

Signum swore under her breath. She need from the start that Seismic had no intention of letting the hostages go – the police would shoot him down in an instant and Signum was fully prepared to go down with him. But if she didn't do what he said, there was the likely possibility that he would hurt them. Signum swore again; sometimes it sucked being the good guy.

Signum unloaded the clip in her gun and held it out outstretched for Seismic to see before tossing it inside. She cautiously stepped through the broken widow with her hands raised in surrender, ignoring the yells from the police captain outside. Her eyes were firmly locked on Seismic, conscious of her his hands were. Signum started to think fast. Maybe if she got close enough to him, she could….Signum stopped sharply in her tracks as Seismic held up his hand to her. She waited for a moment, expecting to be thrown on her butt by a vibro-blast. Seismic laughed.

"Why so twitchy, eh?" said Seismic. "Nothing's gonna happen….Not as long as you do what I say."

"You have me now," said Signum seriously. "Now let the hostages go."

"Yeah, I was just thinking about that," said Seismic in mock thought. "You see, I got like – what? Twenty plus hostages – and I'm gonna trade them all away for one pig-cop. I never went to University, but I know bad odds when I hear them, so…no deal."

"You son of a – " Signum snapped angrily. "You're just making this worse on yourself. Give up while you have the chance."

"Yeah, right," said Seismic, chuckling. "Who's stupid enough to jump in the middle of this?"

_**CRASH!**_

Signum and Seismic's heads shot up; the White Devil had smashed through the skylight and was diving towards them. Seismic automatically raised his hands to her, but Signum spotted a broken piece from one of the statue and kicked it, hitting Seismic in the gut, causing him to briefly double over. The White Devil hit the ground at a crouch and slammed her fist into the floor, creating a shockwave of pink energy that knocked Seismic and Signum on their backs. Seismic started to sit up, but the White Devil quickly dashed around behind and grappled him around the chest with Raising Heart, pinning his arms to his side.

"It's like hugging a fluffy pillow," said White Devil, referring to his thick coat. "You take care of the hostages, Siggy, I'll hold the human couch cushion."

"Will ya now?" said Seismic mockingly.

Though his arms were pinned down, Seismic was still able to touch the floor with his fingers. His vibro-gloves whistled loudly, making the White Devil wince, and suddenly two slabs of stone erupted from the floor at an angle and slammed against either side of the White Devil's head. That kind of attack would normally kill a man, but the White Devil's Barrier Jacket cushioned most of the blow and only making her mildly disoriented, but also loosed her grip around the villain. Seismic broke out of the White Devil's hold and spun around, hitting her point blank in the chest with her vibro-gloves and sending her flying over the clerk's counter. Standing up, he noticed Signum running for the hostages out of the corner of his eye and shot a quick vibro-blast in her direction. Signum saw them and quickly pulled back, ducking behind a desk that immediately shattered, showering her in splinters.

The White Devil grabbed the top of the counter to pull herself up; her head throbbing like a heavy metal drummer was beating against it. She rubbed her head and looked up; Seismic was leering down at her from the other side of the counter.

"Er…welcome to the Uminari City Financial Bank," said the White Devil. "You want to open a new account? You get a free toaster for the first sixty-thousand you deposit."

Seismic slammed his hands on the counter; the marble and wood crumbled into a pile of dust.

"Whaddya got against toast?" said the White Devil.

Seismic tried to grab her in a bear hug, but the White Devil ducked under his arms and kicked him in the back of the leg where Signum had shot him yesterday. He dropped down to one knees as the White Devil swiped her staff around, but Seismic blocked the swing with her glove; she was rebuffed by the resonating vibrations and slid back several feet. Once gaining her footing, the White Devil moved Raising Heart in an arch, creating a handful of Mana balls, but Seismic already had his hands up and his gloves were fully charged. But before Seismic could release the shockwave, Signum ran up from behind and smashed a wooden chair over his head. Shouting, "_**Divine Shooter**_", the White Devil skillfully coordinated the Mana shots to hit Seismic at the thickest points of his upper body so as not to hurt him, but put enough force to send him flying across the room.

"Nice assist, Siggy," said the White Devil.

"Don't take your eye off him just yet," said Signum seriously. "I could tell you weren't trying to hurt him, so that means he's going to get back up. He's a tough one to deal with on your own."

"Tell me about it," said the White Devil. "His gloves are effective at both close- and long-range, plus he can manipulate the vibrations of his gloves so precisely that he can manipulate the molecular structure of any surface, including the ground. If he wanted to, he could rip open a hole in the Earth and drop us in it."

"Then let's not give him the opportunity," said Signum. "His gloves might be impressive, but we also have an advantage: he can't keep track of both of us at the same time. So while I attack him from close-range, you hit him from a distance with those magic beams of yours. He won't be able to keep up with both of us at the same time."

"Are you suggesting…a team-up," the White Devil gasped dramatically.

"Don't tell anyone," said Signum.

"You – stupid – little – Pig!" Seismic shouted furiously as he stood. "Nobody makes a fool o' me, you hear? NOBODY!"

"I don't know, we seem to be doing a good job so far," said the White Devil jokingly.

The White Devil could just imagine the throbbing veins underneath the ski mask as Seismic quiver with obvious rage. He punched the air with a quick vibro-blast; Signum and the White Devil jumped to opposite sides. Signum sprinted a full circle around the bank, jumping over benches and sliding under tables as the shockwaves ripped them apart in her wake. But while Seismic's eye was following the police lieutenant, the White Devil floated over the battlefield directly above Seismic; chunks of concrete orbited around her in bubbles made from pink energy.

"**Stardust Fall!**" said Raising Heart.

The concrete fragments shot down like bullets and Seismic, who had looked up at the last second, threw his arms over his head as the rocks relentlessly beat him down to his knees; his coat able to absorb most of the impact. When the rocks stopped falling, Seismic immediately shot a vibro-blast to the ceiling, which was a bad call as the White Devil moved out of the way and pieces of the ceiling started falling down on top of him. Seismic threw himself out of the way of the debris, tucking and rolling into a kneeling position with his hands aimed for the White Devil. Before he could take the shot, Signum surprised him by appearing directly in front and lifting him to his feet by the collar of his coat. The first things she did was push his hands away before he could use his gloves, then kneed him in the stomach, making him double over, and finished the combo with a strong uppercut that threw Seismic on his back.

Leering underneath the eyeholes of his mask, Seismic slammed his fist into the ground and forced the ground to lift directly underneath Signum's right hood, throwing her off-balance. Seismic sat up while Signum tried to regain her footing and pointed his palms at the police lieutenant, when pink chains of energy dropped from the sky and constricted themselves around his wrists like snakes. Seismic's head shot to the roof; the White Devil was holding the ends of the chains.

"Hey, Shocker-wannabe, listen to this tune, I think you'll like it!" said the White Devil.

The White Devil pulled the chains away from each other before pulling them together to overlap. Seismic could not stop himself as his hands were thrown out at the command of the energy chains and then clapped together, releasing the changed up shockwave directly in his face. Everyone inside and outside the bank threw their hands over their ears as an ear-splitting screech filled the air for several agonizingly-long seconds; the White Devil, who was still recovering from yesterday, fell and smashed through a table. Then everything went silent. Signum rubbed her throbbing earlobes as the White Devil stumbled across the floor, looking very dizzy.

"Well…that was unpleasant," said the White Devil. She shook her head, but quickly stopped. "Nope, that just made it worse."

"Is everyone all right?" asked Signum, looking over to the hostages. They complained about their ears, but were otherwise all right. "Looks like everyone's fine."

"I wouldn't say everyone," said the White Devil, pointing.

The White Devil and Signum carefully stepped around Seismic, who was lying flat on his back. The shockwave of the gloves colliding with each other had ripped apart Seismic's ski mask and most of his padded coat; his short dark hair was sticking up every direction, his mouth was hanging open like he was in the middle of a silent scream, and his eyes were rolled so far back into his skull that they could see the white in his eyes. Signum kneeled down and turned his head to the side; there was a heavy about of blood dripping from his ear canal.

"I think you might have busted his eardrums," said Signum. "He's going to need to be taken to the hospital immediately. Not that I'm complaining or anything – you did save a lot of live today – but you really need to be more careful about your approach. People can get really hurt if you're not careful, Devil….Devil?"

She looked up, but the White Devil was nowhere to be seen as the police started charging through the doors.

"That girl just pulled a Batman on me," Signum muttered. "That's actually kind of impressive."

Hayate Yagami sat at the computer desk in her room, her chin resting on her hand, staring at the computer screen with avid fascination. Normally around this time – that is, after another criminal had been arrested – Hayate would be searching for detailed information of the criminal in question ad hijacking security footage of the event. But not this time. This time Rein's screen was filled with dozens of windows, all of them filled with pictures and data on the girl from Midori-ya, Nanoha Takamachi.

There was just something about the way Nanoha refused to look at her directly during their short meeting and how quick she was to run an errand for her father. And the fact that her father sent her _alone _was another red flag; normal parents don't send ten year old girls to the market alone when there are criminals roaming the street. She the minute she came home, Hayate wheeled herself in her room and started searching for anything pertaining to the youngest Takamachi: birth certificate, school ID, citizenship, school records, even a brief note of participation and a local junior kendo tournament.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary; she was just a normal little girl. That was until she suddenly started missing classes at random intervals and her grades slipped below average for two months before bringing them back up. And it all started around August of last year….The same time that the White Devil first appeared in Uminari City. There was a good chance it was only a coincidence and Hayate was just overthinking things, but…

Hayate's cellphone rang. She quickly reached underneath her wheelchair, pulled out her phone, and sighed in relief as she recognized the number before answering.

"Signum, thank god," said Hayate. "I was worried you might be hurt."

"_I'm fine, just a little banged up_," said Signum. "_We caught Seismic from yesterday, but we have to take him to the hospital first before we can bring him in; the on-site doctor said there's a good possibility that he might be permanently deaf after tonight. Then I have a ton of paperwork to fill out, so I'm going to be home late tonight. You okay for dinner?_"

"I'm fine," said Hayate. "I picked something up at Midori-ya when I went to visit with Suzuka-chan."

"_That's good,_" said Signum. "_So you and Tsukimura are getting along?_"

"We're great," said Hayate happily. "Suzuka-chan is _super _nice and she introduced me to her friends, Alisa-chan and Nanoha-chan. Alisa-chan is a little loud and hot-headed, but she's really funny and excitable. Nanoha-chan…well, I don't really know a lot about her. Her dad sent her on an errand after we got there."

"_Yeah, I remember Nanoha_," said Signum. "_Her father was my personal trainer when I was still in the academy, so I spent a lot of time getting to know the Takamachis. Nanoha is a sweet kid, but she seems to be a little…withdrawn. She seemed kind of lonely every time I saw her, but I hear she's perked up lately. Hey, maybe we could go visit Midori-ya for lunch some time and say 'Hi'._"

"As long as they were no superheroes flying through the window," Hayate said jokingly.

"_Well, I have to get off soon,_" said Signum. "_I'll see you tonight._"

"See ya tonight," said Hayate.

She hung up and set her phone on the desk. She went back to staring at the computer screen with her chin in her hand, her mind now awash with new thoughts. After a long minute of silence, Hayate finally leaned forward and grabbed the mouse. She created a new folder and opened a new file, dragging two pictures into the center, side-by-side. She typed a caption underneath the pictures

**NANOHA TAKAMACHI = THE WHITE DEVIL (?)**

* * *

**Yukari Tamura: **A dishonored soldier. A shamed man. After suffer defeats on and off the battlefield, one man is being given the chance to redeem himself and the chance to take revenge. With a new strength given to him, that man will take his life back in exchange for the life of one child. Next time on the White Devil

**Are You Shocked (nano)?**

**Nanoha:** Magical! Lyrical! I'll do my best!


	5. Are You Shocked (nano)?

**The White Devil**

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha © Masaki Tsuzuki  
All Characters © Respective Owners.

* * *

**Lyrical Record 4: Are You Shocked (nano)?**

To say that Gregory Gordon was having a bad day was a clear understatement; he was more like having a bad week. On Monday, he was supposed to be guarding a shipment of Life Fibers – he still had no clue what they were – being shipped off to Honno City and the White Devil got the drop on him, and the one-eyed ninja girl was no help. Then on Tuesday, he got an easy job guarding one of the Levithan's computer labs, and then some flying freak in a black suit busted through the window and blew the place up. Wednesday was when he got his weekly paycheck and went to deposit it in the bank, only to lose the check from a street punk with vibrating gloves blast tore through. On Thursday, his ex-wife found out his new address.

And after everything that had already happened, things only continued to go downhill as the week led into Friday night, down by Uminari's Industrial District. It was supposed to be another easy job; all he had to do was gather up a crew and guard the factory producing new weapons that were to be shipped overseas the next day. Everything had been fine for the first hour, sitting back with his feet kicked up on the table, drinking beer, and beating out Renji's pair of eights with his full house while the machines worked on their own in the background. And then, as predictable as it may seem, the White Devil dramatically smashed through the factory skylight, landing in a crouch on top of the table, making Gregory Gordon and several others fall backward.

"No, no, don't get up on my account," said the White Devil jokingly.

"What are you idiots waiting for?" shouted Gregory Gordon, leaping to her feet. "Waste her already!"

The words had barely left his lips before all eight men had pulled out their assault rifles and jammed their fingers to the triggers, shooting wildly at the table, which had shattered to splinters from the shower of bullets. But every single shot had missed the White Devil, who had rocketed upwards and flipped around in mid-air, kicking off against the ceiling, and shooting back down with her staff pulled around her shoulder. The White Devil swung Raising Heart as one of the men tried to change his rifle clip and slammed the jewel of her scepter in his face; blood leaking from is nose, both his front teeth clattering on the ground. Landing, she jabbed the end of Raising Heart into the stomach of the closest henchmen, making him double over, and threw him on his back with a strong uppercut before shooting a quick Mana ball at another henchmen's gun, which exploded I his face.

Gregory Gordon didn't bother sticking around; he already knew how it was going to end. He ignored his men's cries for him to come back, shouldering him way through the door outside, running down the stairwell three steps at a time. He fumbled through his pockets for the keys to his truck while shooting fearful glances over his shoulder, only to drop them once found. Gregory picked them up, jumped into his truck, and jammed the keys into the slot, turning with all his might. Finally, the sweet sound of the engining turning over entered his ears; he slammed his foot on the pedal and….

_**CRASH!**_

Gregory Gordon staring through the broken windshield, his mouth agape. The White Devil dropped down from out of nowhere and stomped her feet on the front of his truck, crushing it like a soda can, with Raising Heart spearing through the hood; it sounded like she killed the engine. Gregory Gordon stared up at the White Devil, who was looking down on his with amusement apparent in her eyes. Suddenly, she grabbed him through the broken windshield and pulled him through, throwing him on the ground. In a desperate attempt, Gregory Gordon reached for the pistol in his pocket, but all the White Devil had to do was point a finger and a pink beam of energy sent his gun flying.

"Why do you keep doing this to yourself, Greg?" said the White Devil, dropping down to the ground. "You know I'm going to kick your butt every time, so why keep making trouble for yourself, huh?"

"You think you're so tough," Gregory Gordon growled. "Think you are better with your fancy gadgets and magic lasers. If I had technology like that – "

"I'd still kick your butt," the White Devil interrupted. "Time to face the facts, Greg. I doesn't matter how many men you bring with you, or whatever 'clever strategy' you have up your sleeve, or what kind of tech you use. Because when it comes down to it, I am faster, stronger, smarter, and overall better than you."

"**Nanoha, I think that's enough,**" Lindy said sternly over her earpiece. "**You've already beaten him, so stop acting lose a sore winner.**"

"How can I be a sore winner?" said the White Devil chuckled. "It wasn't even a competition. The Leviathan's thugs are all sixth-rate gangster wannabes, and Greg is the biggest wannabe of them all. Can't figure out why the Leviathan is constantly wasting such much money bailing a loser like him out of jail – "

"**That's enough, Nanoha!**" Lindy snapped. "**Go home immediately! You're done for the day!**"

"All right, all right, jeez," said the White Devil. She looked back down at Greg, who stared back at her with a look of contempt, then shot him with a binding chain of pink energy. "You just hang around until Signum comes and take you away again. I hear they have a cell reserved for you down at the station with a plaque and everything."

As the White Devil flew off into the city skyline, laughing in a gloating way, Gregory Gordon glared at the back of her head with his teeth gnashing, his fists shaking against the magical chains. His hands were still clenched in frustration when Lieutenant Yagami picked up twenty minutes later, saying nothing but only shaking her head with a look of pity on her face. Gregory Gordon maintained a neutral expression through the booking process, which at this point had become routine for him. The officer in charge escorted Gregory to his familiar cell, shoving him inside rougher than necessary. Once Gregory was locked up, the officer humorously pointed out the makeshift brass plaque pinned to the wall of his cell, just like the White Devil said. The officer laughed; Gregory smashed his nose through the bars.

Gregory Gordon stared blankly at the opposite wall of his uncomfortable bed, his hands folded under his chin, his leg bouncing up and down impatiently. Every now and then, the guards would drag another criminal and convict past his cell, some of them accepting their fate quietly, and others fruitless struggling until someone tased them to the ground. And the whole time, Gregory Gordon could only think of how _furious _he was at the world. His country abandoned him, forcing him to relocate halfway around the world, Uminari City and its gangs of freaks and monsters making life difficult, and then there was the White Devil….Gregory gnashed his teeth harder, possibly chipping them. It wasn't enough for the White Devil to beat and humiliate him in front of everyone, but looking down on him like he was some minor annoyance….

"Curse that White Devil," Gregory muttered angrily. "That little piece of….What I wouldn't give to just have one shot at her, make her taste her own medicine for a change. Just one shot is all I need….Just one shot…."

"Then you may very well have that opportunity."

Gregory Gordon shot his head up to the door. It was Marco Lawson, the Leviathan's prim and proper secretary and second-in-command. The police officer whose nose Gregory smashed earlier reluctantly unlocked the door and opened the jail cell for him.

"The boss is posting bail for you again, Gordon," said Lawson plainly, walking away with Gregory following a step behind. "You should feel grateful that he takes considerable effort to keep you out of prison; you are one of his most valuable employees. Just remember this: every man loses favor with the Leviathan eventually. Now come along," he added, opening the door outside open for Gregory, "the Leviathan has something he wishes to say to you."

They walked down the stone steps of the Uminari Police Station, where a sleek black sports car was waiting on the curb. Lawson took a moment to rummage through his pockets, smirking as he dangled the keys in front of Gregory's face before getting inside. Soon both of them were driving downtown towards Uminari's Financial District, enduring through the daily traffic jam of evening commuters. Gregory Gordon leaned his head in his hand, staring out the window absently.

"So are you going to tell me what the Leviathan wants, or am I supposed to guess?" asked Gregory.

"I know just as little as you do," said Lawson monotonously. "You're just going to have to ask him yourself."

"Wait, we're going to meet the Leviathan?" said Gregory, jumping in his seat in shock.

It was very rare for anyone working for the Leviathan to meet the man himself; they usually got their orders through Lawson or over the phone. The people who usually went to the Leviathan Gregory saw the next day when Lawson asks him to take what was left of them and dump their remains in the middle of the ocean. Gregory hand was shaking again, but this time in fear. Had he finally screwed up so badly that the Leviathan wanted to get rid of him? Lawson pulled into the parking garage across from Seaport Enterprises and pulled into the reserved parking spot close to the entrance, then, as if reading his mind, he turned to Gregory and said:

"I doubt you have anything to worry about," said Lawson. "As I said before, the Leviathan thinks of you as one of his most valued employees. I'm sure everything will turn out fine….Hopefully. Now come on, we mustn't keep the Leviathan waiting any longer than he has to."

Minutes later, Gregory and Lawson were on the top floor of the Seaport Enterprises building standing outside the double oak doors of the CEO's office. The brass nameplate on the doors said Mizuiro Kaiju, but Gregory knew that it was the Leviathan waiting for him inside. Gregory took a big gulp of air, his hands still shaking. Lawson rapped the double doors with his knuckles twice and waited until he heard the smooth voice from inside say, "Come in." Lawson threw both doors open and waited until Gregory, who stepped nervously inside, before shutting the doors behind him, leaving the two men alone.

Gregory Gordon timidly walked across office with its lavish silk Persian carpet, polished wood furniture holding some of the most expensive memorabilia he had ever seen, and an entire wall of bookshelves with rough-looking tomes written in languages he had never seen. And there, sitting behind his neatly organized desk, was the Leviathan himself. In retrospect, Gregory had imagined the Leviathan as a hulking military-type with dozens of distinguishing scares and a curled lip like something out of a gangster movie. So it came as a surprise when the Leviathan turned out to be a handsome, silver-haired man who looked more suited for attending charities events than leading organized crime.

Mizuiro Kaiju gave Gregory a soft smile – Gregory felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up – and reached down into his desk drawer, taking out a bottle of expensive wine and two glasses. Mizuiro poured a bit of wine into both glasses and took one for himself while offering the other to Gregory.

"This wine was made from favorite vineyard in Italy – very expensive, but well worth it," said Mizuiro, taking a sip. When he noticed Gregory had not taken his glass, he chuckled heartily. "Don't worry, it's poisoned. I didn't ask Lawson to bring you to my office to punish you, so relax. Have a drink."

Still a little anxious, Gregory carefully took the glass and had a sip; it was very sweet for a wine.

"I want to get straight to the point, Gordon," said Mizuiro in a businesslike tone. "Do you know why I am constantly bailing you out of jail, paying for your expenses, and going the extra mile to keep you out of trouble? Because you remind me a little of myself a long time ago: young and ambitious, always striving to a higher plateau. And you know why? Because men like you and me have vision. Sure, you're a little rough around the edges, but who isn't. The fact of the matter is, you have the potential to do something great with your life. Hell, you might even take my place as Leviathan one day. But there is one thing standing in your way…."

"The White Devil," Gregory grunted.

"Ever since she showed up, she has made life difficult for the both of us," said Mizuiro, spinning in his chair to stare out the window. "Uminari may appear as the ideal city, but that's only because we are working from the shadows to keep everything under control. The White Devil doesn't understand that; she's throwing everything out of balance. It won't be long before someone else comes along and throws this city into chaos. We need to take care of it at once. That's why I called you up here, Gordon. I want you to take care of the White Devil."

"As much as I would love to, I seriously doubt that I could," said Gregory, grimacing. "She's too powerful, flying around and throwing those pink lasers at everyone like some anime magical girl. A normal person like me could never beat her."

"I suppose your right," said Mizuiro, grinning. "The way you are now, you couldn't dream of beating the White Devil. So let's even the odds a little."

Gregory Gordon raised his brow as Mizuiro spun around in his chair, reaching for something underneath his desk. He lifted a large silver suitcase on top of his desk, unbuckled the latches, and threw the lid open before spinning it around for Gregory to see. Gregory's mouth dropped in awe. He pulled the case closer to get a better look at the contents, looking very much like a child receiving a present from a favorite uncle.

"So, Gordon," said Mizuiro, "are you ready to bring order to this city?"

"Very much," said Gregory, grinning excitedly.

* * *

Nanoha made herself comfortable at Lindy's apartment, leaning back into the world most comfortable couch with Yuuno perched on her shoulder. Lindy offered them both her special sweetened green tea, which they both accepted graciously with a smile; hey both dumped it into the nearby potted plant the moment her back was turned. The Dimensional Fleet Admiral had called them both after Nanoha was let out of school to review the footage from the White Devil's fight earlier that day. Nanoha was grinning from ear-to-ear as they played back the footage Raising Heart had taken, laughing at a few moments like when she hung one of the men to the rafters by his pants. Lindy and Yuuno, on the other hand, did not look pleased. Quite the contrary, they seemed heavily annoyed the long the fight went on until Lindy finally paused the video feed.

"Is it possible for someone to be _too_ awesome?" said Nanoha, still grinning. "Did you see how fast I took them all out? Honestly, this hero business is getting way too easy."

"What the hell was that?" said Lindy in a low voice.

"Huh?" said Nanoha, blinking.

"I said, 'what the hell was that'?" Lindy repeated, now leering at her. Nanoha stiffened in her seat; she had never seen the admiral angry before and it was quite frightening in its own way. "What the hell did you think you were doing out there, showboating like some kind of sideshow act? If you were in the TSAB, I would have you court-martialed for reckless behavior and endangerment. Just what did you think you were trying to prove?"

"I don't get what you're so bent out of shape about," said Nanoha, frowning. "I beat them, didn't I?"

"That's not the point, Nanoha," said Yuuno. "That kind of behavior is unacceptable for a mage. What if you had gotten hurt?"

"Like those guys could even touch me," said Nanoha. "You guys are worrying over nothing; they were just a bunch of hired goons and street thugs. Compared to real villains like Ravager or Tailwind – "

"Oh, now I see what the problem is," said Lindy. "You think just because you beat a bunch of supervillains that you're invincible now. Last I recall, Seismic smacked you around pretty good the other day and he almost killed you twice if Lt. Yagami hadn't been around to save your butt."

"Seismic was a perfect example of arrogance," said Yuuno. "He could have killed you before Signum could have done anything had he not been running his mouth off. If you keep acting the way you are, Nanoha, the same thing could happen to you."

"For one thing, I'm nothing like Seismic," said Nanoha. "And for another, I'm not arrogant, I'm just that good."

"This is a very serious matter, Nanoha," said Lindy. "If you don't learn to bring your ego down by several notches, it _is_ going to come back to haunt you. Any one of those people could take advantage of your overconfidence – "

"What, people like Gregory Gordon?" said Nanoha, scoffing at the prospect. "Lindy-san, there's a reason they call them henchmen. It's because they aren't smart enough to do anything without someone else pointing fingers. Trust me, the sun will freeze over before losers like Greg ever give me a hard time.

Lindy's leer became more pronounced; she looked like she would actually start shooting flames through her eyes. But before Lindy could say anything, Raising Heart began to beep loudly, indicating that she had caught wind of trouble. Lindy swiped the screen to a radio frequency monitor and turned to the holographic dial to tune in on the signal. After a quick adjustment, the tuned into the police dispatcher in the middle of his report….

"…_**at the tidal power station. Unconfirmed reports are saying that Gregory Gordon is on the scene. All officers are to be notified that Gregory Gordon is armed and extremely dangerous.**_"

"_**How the hell did he get out of his cell that quickly?**_" Signum's voice said over the static. "_**How many people are with Gordon?**_"

"_**Officers are reporting in that Gordon is alone. Officers have attempted to enter the building to apprehend Gordon, but all attempts have failed and they have several officers wounded. Medical staff is on route to the scene.**_"

"_**Has Gordon made any demands**_?" asked Signum.

"_**Gordon is demanding to the White Devil – **_"

"Sounds like that's my cue," said Nanoha, snatching up Raising Heart and jumping to her feet. "This won't take too long. I'll kick Greg's butt and be home before dinner."

"You can't go in there halfcocked, Nanoha," Yuuno said with a hint of warning. "Gregory Gordon is demanding to see you directly. He wouldn't do that unless he was confident he could win. Please be careful."

"Hai, hai," Nanoha waved off. "Raising Heart, onegai."

"**Stand-by ready!**" said Raising Heart. "**Set-up!**"

* * *

Signum made a sharp turn around the corner, nearly colliding with the on-coming traffic, and shot straight down the road toward the city's power station. Signum grimaced as the power station came into view from a distance. Years ago, Mizuiro Kaiju had brought forth a plan to use ocean surrounding Uminari City through a series of interconnected turbines placed way out at sea that would generate electricity to the mainland. Naturally, the city was not ready to accept the proposal, since the tides were considered an insufficient source of energy. But when Kaiju provided a prototype that not only worked but produced twice as much electricity than normal means, the city jumped at the chance to fund his project. His completed work earned Uminari Coty a steady reputation in Japan as well as cemented Kaiju's position as a powerful business mogul.

Today, that power station supplied more than eighty percent of the city's energy, which means that if Gregory Gordon were to damage anything….Signum slammed the accelerator as hard as she could, speeding down the road with complete disregard.

When she screeched to a halt outside the power station and jumped out, she had not expected the situation to be as much of a disaster at it was. The several squad cars were flipped over or on fire and one of the on-site ambulances looked like its engine had been blown. The smell of burning flesh forced Signum to cover her nostrils before she became sick; a lot of police officers that were being patched up had severe burns. Taking a quick look around, Signum spotted the Officer-in-Charge ducking behind his squad car, poking his head up every few seconds.

"What's the situation?" Signum asked, crouching next to him.

"Gregory Gordon posted bail earlier this morning," said the officer. "Not even a few hours later, he charges in to the power station, scares the hell out all the employees, and now he's holed up inside. He's threatening to destroy the generators and cut off all power to the city if he doesn't see the White Devil right away."

"Figures it would come back to the Devil," said Signum, grimacing. "Judging from all the injured, I take it all attempts to force him out have failed."

"Affirmative, ma'am," said the officer. "Gordon got his hands on some weird technology like those Tailwind and Seismic characters. We sent a squad in through the back hoping to sneak up on him, but he was already on top of us before we could even get through the door. We tried calling in a sniper, but Gordon managed to snipe our sniper. We are considering calling in a SWAT team if we can't get him out soon."

"The situation is that bad already?" said Signum, sounding surprised. "What the hell did Gordon get his hands on this time? If we just sit here and do nothing, Gordon will destroy the generators and throw the entire city into chaos….I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really wish the Devil was here."

"If that's your wish, then call me Genie!"

All heads turned to the sky as the White Devil floated to the ground inside the circle of police, Raising Heart propped on her shoulder, her posture one of pure confidence. Many of the officers pulled their guns on the Devil and Signum couldn't fault them for it; she was technically a vigilant even if the rest of the city thought her a hero. Signum raised her hand and gestured them to put their guns away. The officers hesitated for a moment, looking at one another silently asking if she was joking, but reluctantly holstered their weapons. They could catch the Devil another day, Signum thought, but now they needed her.

"What's the matter, Siggy?" said the White Devil; Signum could definitely hear the tone of confidence in her voice. "Never thought you'd have trouble bringing in one thug. Don't tell me, you guys overdid it on the donuts, haven't you?"

"This is not the time for jokers, Devil – " said Signum.

"There's always a time for joke," The White Devil interrupted. "I just heard this really good one the other day. Okay, so a mage, a leprechaun, and a priest walk into a bar – "

"Will you be serious for once?" Signum snapped, slamming her fist on the hood of the police car. ("Hey, I just waxed that," chided the officer). "Gordon is this close to shutting down the entire city, so we need to shut the situation down before any more people get hurt! Normally I'd rather throw myself off a building than to ask you for help, but Gordon says he wants you. I don't know what the hell you did to set him off, but you need to get your butt in there and fix it!"

"Hai, hai," the White Devil waved nonchalantly. "I'll just run in a kick his butt like I always do. I'll be back in five minutes or less or your pizza is free."

"Don't walk in their halfcocked, Devil," said Signum. "Gordon's got his hands on some serious hardware; he's already taken out a dozen of our men, so – "

"No offense to you and your men, Siggy," said the White Devil, "but I'm a superhero. I'm pretty sure I'm a cut above anyone in the UCPD. And besides, it's Greg we're talking about. I seriously doubt he'll give me any trouble.

Signum growled furiously and slammed her fist again; the vein was now visibly throbbing from her temple. But before she had the chance to snap, the White Devil jumped through the broken window inside.

The first thing that came to the White Devil's mind when she landed inside was how large yet cramped the interior of the station really as. The place was three times bigger than Midori-ya with a very high ceiling, but most of the spaces were being filled in with twenty-foot long generators that hummed very loudly in her ears. Several dozen computer monitors were spread in rows around the area – The White Devil was certain she would be in a lot of trouble for breaking one – and dozens of intersecting catwalks lined the ceiling, which would make flying difficult for her. As the White Devil walked around the side, she noticed several dozen gigantic insulated cables coming through the wall and attached to the generators. The cables must be what connect the generators to the turbines out at sea, the White Devil thought.

"Looking at all this and knowing its giving power to an entire city," said the White Devil impressively, "you'd almost think he actually cared about people. Almost."

"**Stay focus, Nanoha,**" Lindy said through the earpiece. "**Gordon might be hiding somewhere around any corner, so see if you can sneak quietly – **"

"Hey, Greg, you in here?" the White Devil shouted.

"**What part of that is quiet?**" said Lindy exasperatedly.

"Ah, Little Devil," said Gregory Gordon's voice. "I see you have finally arrived; I was beginning to fear that you wouldn't make it. Not before I had the chance to – how do you children say it – 'show off my new threads' I believe? I think you might appreciate them."

The White Devil tilted his head backward to stare up at the catwalks. Gregory Gordon's shadowy image leered down over the White Devil menacingly before he leaps over the railing, landed in front of her.

The White Devil's brows disappeared under her hood when she got a good look at Gordon. Once having a mop of coffee-brown hair and a rugged beard-mustache combo to match, Gregory Gordon's had shaved himself completely bald that they overhead lights actually reflected off his smooth skull. Aside from his lack of hair, the Devil stared strangely at the suit he was wearing: a full bodysuit made from a reflective deep-blue material with several silver lightning patterns intersecting, silver-plated cuffed boots and gloves, and a strange metallic collar around his neck with a blue diamond embedded in the front.

"Ooh, are we having a pajama party?" said the White Devil mockingly. "Wait here, I'm gonna go get my sleeping bag and four of the sappiest movies my sister owns."

"**Nanoha, you have to be careful!**" Lindy said urgently over the earpiece. "**That suit Gordon's wearing is – **"

"Yes, make all the jokes you want, Little Devil," said Gregory, talking over Lindy's warning. "I cannot be bothered with them anymore. I have endured your taunts for far too long and now" – he chuckled darkly, cracking his knuckles – "now I have the chance to pay you back for all those times you have humiliate me."

"I don't need to humiliate you," said the White Devil, snorting behind her mask. "You seem to be doing a good job of that on your own. I mean, do you even _own _a mirror? The Mr. Clean look is soooo not your style."

"Laugh now, Little Devil, because you won't be laughing for much longer," said Gregory.

"You think just because you got a haircut and a tacky new wardrobe you can win?" said the White Devil, rolling her eyes in a mocking sort of way. "In case you haven't been keeping count, Greg, I've kicked your butt one hundred and seventeen times in the past year – I'm pretty sure that's a world record. And you still want to have a go at me? Man, you are a glutton for punishment."

"If you are so confident, come at me, Little Devil," Gregory challenged.

"**Nanoha, whatever you do, don't – **"

"Okay," said the White Devil, jumping at Gregory with her fist pulled back. "But remember, you're the one who asked for it."

"**NANOHA, NO!**"

She ignored the admiral screaming in her ear and threw a swift right hook to Gregory's head. But to the White Devil's amazement, Gregory Gordon casually sidestepped her fist and walked around while she was still in mid-punch, almost as if time had slowed down around her. The White Devil's eyes followed him where her body would not as watched as Gregory clenched his fist; an aura of electricity crackled around his knuckles. Gregory swung underneath the White Devil's chin and blasted her skyward, the electricity prickling her skin through her Barrier Jacket. The White Devil slammed her back into the ceiling; a spider web of cracks rippled through the concrete. She ripped away from the ceiling and fell flat onto one of the many catwalks. She grabbed the railing to pull herself up and stared across the pathway where Gregory Gordon stood, his hand clenched around the railing as well. Before the White Devil had realized what happened, she felt a strong jolt of electricity coursing through her hand, traveling up and down her spine. She immediately let go of the railing and jumped back, but she had forgotten her footing and flipped over the railing, landing flat on her back on ground level.

"**Barrier Jacket Stability at 91%!**" said Raising Heart.

"What…was that?" said the White Devil, wide-eyed.

"**That was what I was trying to warn you about,**" said Lindy severely. "**I've seen that uniform before – it was an experimental battle suit created the Time-Space Administration Bureau's Research and Development Division for extreme combat scenarios. But the project was ended years ago after the Bureau cut their funding. The R&amp;D Division only ever developed a prototype, so there should only be one in existence.**"

"How did Greg get his hands on a top secret government?" the White Devil said aloud.

"A gift from the Leviathan," said Gregory, nonchalantly making his way down the stairs with a big grin on his face. "And what a gift it is. Can turn even a common man like me into a super soldier stronger than the White Devil. You had this coming, Little Devil, for all those moments when you looked down on me, mocking me."

"It was kinda hard not to," said the White Devil. "You're not exactly a difficult target, Greg."

"And that's another thing," said Gregory. "Calling me 'Greg' this, and 'Greg' that. I am a force to be reckoned with and I think I deserve a new name to match. Something strong, something that will make everyone tremble I fear, like – "

"Sparkler?" the White Devil suggested. "You totally look like a Sparkler to me – the bald head and the 1970s disco suit."

"No, not Sparkler!" yelled Gregory. "From now on, everyone will remember the name…**BLITZKRIEG!**"

"Really? A German theme?" said the White Devil, her brow raised. "Don't you think that's a little obvious? If it were me, I would have gone with something clever like – "

"SHUT UP!" snapped Blitzkrieg.

Blitzkrieg slammed his knuckles together; an aura of electricity bundled around them. He punched the air and a bolt of lightning shot from his fist, leaving barely enough time for the White Devil to roll over and dodge. The White Devil rolled up back to her feet and jumped to the side when Blitzkrieg shot another electric bolt before jumping into the air backward. Unfortunately, she had forgotten the placement of the stations catwalks, banged the back of her head on one of them, and flailed into one of the wall mounted computer stations.

The White Devil rubbed the back of her head, wincing when he hand touched the fresh lump swelling, and looked up as Blitzkrieg dashed across the room in the time for the Devil to blink. She ducked out of the way of his fist at the last second, and smashed his hand through the computer monitor. It that split second of opportunity, the White Devil spun around and swung Raising Heart around for his head. Blitzkrieg caught it with little effort and wrapped his hand around Raising Heart rod, releasing a flow of electricity that travel down the pole straight through the White Devil's hand. The White Devil yelped and unconsciously released her hold on Raising Heart.

Throwing the magical staff away, Blitzkrieg grabbed the White Devil by the arms and unloaded what felt to Nanoha like a million volts of electricity coursing through her nervous system. The Barrier Jacket did well to absorb most of the attack, but she could hear Raising Heart beeping loudly in her mind:

"**Barrier Jacket stability at 84%...73%...66%...59%...**"

Caught in a desperate situation, the White Devil lifted her foot to Blitzkriegs stomach and pushed. The tiny shove did nothing to move Blitzkrieg, but the loud ripping sound indicated that the Devil had ripped off the sleeves of her Barrier Jacket, exposing her arms but ultimately freeing her. It took a moment for Blitzkrieg to realize what was going on as he stared at the white sleeves in his hands, but the White Devil was already running to the other side of the power station, grabbing Raising Heart off the ground, and ducking behind one of the generators. The White Devil cautiously peeked over the edge of the generator, spying Blitzkrieg from a distance, when she her a loud noise in her ear that made her jump. It took a moment for her to realize it was only her earpiece.

"What do you want?" the White Devil whispered. "I'm in the middle of something."

"**Yeah, getting your butt handed to you**," said Lindy.

"I'm not getting my butt handed to me," said the White Devil defiantly. "I'm just…lulling him into a fall sense of security."

"**Whatever helps you sleep at night,**" said Lindy. "**Either way, I called up a favor from a guy in R&amp;D who has a major crush on me – don't ask – and he pulled up the schematics for the suit. Apparently it was designed to magnetize the electrons in the atmosphere and collect them in an internal storage unit inside the suit until discharged; that explains why he chose a power station for a fight. Besides the obvious electrical attacks, the suit's main feature is the speed up the wearer's neural synapsis, making their reaction times much faster than normal.**"

"So he zaps and moves fast," the White Devil summarized. "But even if he can move as fast as the Flash – which I seriously doubt – it won't mean anything if doesn't now they're coming. Raising Heart..."

"**Sacred Cluster!**" said Raising Heart.

"**Nanoha, wait a moment!**" screamed Lindy.

Once again, the White Devil ignores the admiral's warning, jumping over the generator with a loud _clang_. Blitzkrieg spun around, coming face-to-face with the White Devil and readied his hands in an electrical aura, when he noticed a strange light in the corner of his eye. Looking up, he realized that he was surrounded in a dome comprised of thirty plus Divine Orbs. The magical bombs struck down from every direction. But, much to the White Devil's astonishment, the Sacred Cluster had barely gotten within a few feet of Blitzkrieg before they fizzed like static and vanished.

The White Devil stared wide eyed at the air where her Divine Orbs once were, lowering her gaze back to Blitzkrieg, whose hands were folded over each other, creating a larger electric aura. She had no time to dodge; Blitzkrieg shot a massive bolt of electricity into the White Devil's chest. The force of the attack blew the White Devil off her feet and sent her flying backward over a generator and through two sets of railing in the catwalk, stopping only when she planted face-first into the wall. Moaning weakly, the White Devil slumped down to the ground, a gaping hole in the front of her Jacket, her skin feeling like she was being pricked by a million needles.

"**Barrier Jacket stability at 39%,**" said Raising Heart. "**Warning: Linker Core disconnected. Mana storage depleted. All spells offline. Attempting to reset. Predicated time of connection: nine minutes and six seconds.**"

"Lindy-san…please explain what happened," Nanoha moaned, flipping over on her back.

"**Finally ready to listen, are you?**" said Lindy severely. "**The suit gives off an electromagnetic field that disrupts Mana frequency. The design of the system was based off Jail Scaglietti's original work on Anti Magilink Fields in Gadget Drones; that why the suit initially received huge funding from the Bureau.**"

"I'm not even going to ask what all that means," said the White Devil. "All I know is that I've got eight minutes left until I can use magic again."

"Where are you, Little Devil," Blitzkrieg's voice echoed behind her. "Why you run from me? I thought you were – how did you say it – 'going to kick my butt'?

A thrill of panic shot up in the White Devil's chest. She shot up to her feet – her skin tingled uncomfortably, still recovering from the shock – leaned on Raising Heart, and hobbled out of sight as Blitzkrieg came around the corner. She heard Blitzkrieg's footsteps getting closer. Her heart was beating a mile a minute. The White Devil looked around and noticed a tiny niche in the base of the generator. She didn't know if it was going to fit her, but when she heard Blitzkrieg walking around the machinery, she decided that she didn't care. The White Devil threw herself onto the floor, crawled into the tiny opening, ignoring the scrapes her arms were getting, and pressed herself as far back as she could, keeping her mouth shut.

It was like something out of a horror film that Kyouya would let her watch. She tried to slow down her breathing as she heard Blitzkrieg walking closer. She jumped slightly when something made a loud noise nearby; it sounded like Blitzkrieg had knocked over one of the machines. And then his feet came into sight directly in front of her; Nanoha slapped her hand over her mouth to cover her gasp. Blitzkrieg just stood there for a long minutes, the White Devil not knowing what he was doing because she could only see his feet. She really hoped that he couldn't hear her frantic heart beating against her ribcage.

The White Devil almost let out a sigh of relief when Blitzkrieg's feet moved on. She waited a minute in case he was still out there, then crawled out under the generator. She could see Blitzkrieg's shadow getting smaller around the corner of the machines. The White Devil fell back against the generator, sliding down to the floor with a soft groan.

"Lindy-san…" said the White Devil tiredly. "Lindy-san…I need your help now…."

"**I don't know,**" said Lindy coldly. "**I think you're doing pretty well. After all, you are a superhero, you should be able to whip him without breaking a sweat.**"

"Okay, okay, I get it," said the White Devil defeated. "I let my ego get the best of me, I didn't take Greg seriously, and now he's about to turn me into the Grilled Devil – "

"Where are you, Little Devil!" Blitzkrieg yelled impatiently. "Enough hiding! Show yourself!"

The White Devil crouched lower and silently stepped around the generator as Blitzkrieg walked by with a deep scowl. The White Devil stepped over the insulated cables cautiously and peeked her eyes over the edge of the generator to Blitzkrieg's back. His bald head turned left and right before he kicked over another computer, groaning exasperatedly when there was no White Devil to be found. Blitzkrieg turned around; the White Devil ducked her head before he could see. She waited for a moment, clutching Raising Heart's rod, until she heard Blitzkrieg's footsteps walk away.

"Lindy-san, is there anything you can tell em to beat that thing?" asked the White Devil. "You said it was a prototype, right? That means the people at Research and Development never really finished it. Is there some sort of weakness you can tell me?"

"**There is a design flaw to the suit, according to these schematics,**" said Lindy. "**Apparently the designers couldn't find a proper outlet for the internal storage battery. The suit needs to be constantly discharged or the electrons will pile up until the battery reaches its breaking point and overload the entire thing.**"

"Okay, so how do I stuff him full of electrons?" asked the White Devil.

"**You're in an electrical power station,**" said Lindy. "**I'm sure you'll think of something.**"

Thinking carefully for a moment, the White Devil looked down at the large insulated cables. If she was right in thinking earlier, then the cables were connected to the turbines out at sea, which meant they were pumping electricity to the generator. Her head perked when a loud crash sounded close-by; Blitzkrieg just smashed another terminal. With a deep sigh, the White Devil reached down and grabbed the cable. It was a lot more difficult to pull out without Mana to boost her strength. The White Devil gave the cable a few hard tugs without making much progress. She then planted her foot on the side of the generator and pushed off, finally slipping the cable out; wilds sparks crackled from the end of it.

"This is either going to be the craziest or stupidest idea I ever had," said The White Devil.

She walked out into the row of monitors, hiding the sparking cable behind her hands, and yelled, "Hey, Greg, you lookin' for something!"

Blitzkrieg came sliding into view almost immediately.

"Little Devil decides to stop hiding, eh?" said Blitzkrieg. "Now stand still, Little Devil. I'm going to kill you, jump start your heart, and then kill you again!"

"You're getting a real _charge _out of this, aren't ya?" said the White Devil. "Think this fight is gonna be a little _short_. You might be a little _shocked_. Ha! I'm hitting all the pun today!"

"You're jokes are getting worse by the minute, Little Devil," said Blitzkrieg, bringing his electrified hands into view. "But don't worry, I'll fix that even if it _hertz_."

"Hey, I'm the only one allowed to make bad puns! That's my shtick!" snapped the White Devil.

Blitzkrieg dashed forward, closing the distance between him and the White Devil in the blink of an eye, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid the Devil's eye. She waited patiently as he came closer, her hands gripping the cable tightly behind her back, shaking nervously. And when Blitzkrieg was looming over her, his electrified hands above his head, the White Devil pulled the cable around and jabbed it into Blitzkrieg's navel. At the same time, Blitzkrieg clamped his hands on either side of the White Devil's hood, releasing several jolts through the reinforced fabric into her skull. The White Devil winced and a thrill of terror started to rise up in her chest. Her plan was for Blitzkrieg would overload immediately, but it looked like the suit was discharging as much electricity into her skull as she was putting in.

"What are you thinking, Little Devil?" said Blitzkrieg, laughing. "You think you can electrocute me while I am wearing this. I always thought you were smart, but it seems you've lost your _spark_."

"Stop – stealing – my – pun!" the White Devil groaned.

Her vision was starting to get fuzzy; she could literally feel her brain tingling uncomfortably. And Raising Heart constant whispering in her ear was not helping anything.

"**Warning:** **Barrier Jacket Stability at 31%...26%...13%...2%..."**

She felt like her head was about to explode any moment; the urge to vomit was steadily rising from her stomach to her throat. As her vision started to go black and she could feel everything from her teeth to her toes starting to tingle, Nanoha did something she had never done before: she prayed. She prayed to the gods and spirits she doesn't believe in to get Blitzkrieg away from her and end the pain.

And then it stopped.

The White Devil's head snapped up as Blitzkrieg released her head and started to back up, patting himself fretfully. When her sight started to clear, she realized that Blitzkrieg suits was starting to rip in several places and fiery sparks were flying everywhere, sometimes lashing Gregory Gordon in the face. He spun around and tried closing the tears with his hand like a man on fire trying to put himself out, but the tears were only getting bigger. Lights were starting to flash from the holes, which made Gregory Gordon panic even worse.

"No! No! What did you do?" screamed Blitzkrieg. "This can't be – I can't – what is – AHHH!"

The White Devil didn't need to see what came next. She ducked back behind the generator and covered her head with her hands as an earthshattering _**BOOM **_shook the station; catwalks creaked, machines screeched, and hanging lamps flailed wildly. A moment or two of silence passed before the White Devil stood up. Poking her head around, she saw Blitzkrieg with a gigantic scorch mark around his feet and most of the machines around him had either been burned or broken. His suit was in tatters and patches of his skin were ashen as he stared dimly at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought. The White Devil walked over to Blitzkrieg, who was still staring blankly up, and tap him gentle with her finger. The bald enforcer dropped backward like a ragdoll.

The White Devil released a breath she didn't know she was holding. She dropped backward onto the floor and stared up at the ceiling as well, not believing she had won. Her fight with Blitzkrieg had been the most intense she had ever had, but she suspected it would have gone a lot smoother had she not underestimated him. Just then, Raising Heart beeped.

"**Linker Core connection reestablished. Mana storages recharging. All available spells have been unlocked.**"

"Aw, does this mean I have to move?" the White Devil whined. "This day just keeps getting worse."

The White Devil stayed on the floor for as long as she could, her whole body feeling like it had just gone through meat grinder. Her relaxation time didn't last long, however. The moment they realized the fight had ended, Lt. Yagami kicked down the station door and lead a squad inside the building. The White Devil managed to slip out the window in time, but she could still hear Signum's enraged screams as she flew away.

* * *

Too tired to fly back, the White Devil called a taxi on the way to Lindy's apartment complex; the look on the driver's face would have perfect pun material had she had the strength for it. Nanoha held in a moan as Lindy patched her up, making no effort to be gentle with her. Yuuno was on the table with the charred remains of her Barrier Jacket, dabbling with a display of holographic monitors she couldn't understand.

When Lindy patched her arm, she gave a particularly hard slap, making Nanoha yelp.

"Ow!" said Nanoha. "Watch it! I'm just a little girl, you know!"

"Could have fooled me," said Lindy sternly, closing up the medkit. "I hope this experience has taught you a valuable lesson, Nanoha."

"Yeah, it did," said Nanoha, hanging her head shamefully. "I thought because it was Gordon that it was going to be an easy win, and I didn't take it seriously. Gordon took advantage of that and whooped my butt good…." She sighed deeply. "You were right, Lindy-san. I let my ego get in the way of my better judgement. I'm sorry."

"At least you learned something from all this," said Lindy, taking a seat next to her. "It's all right to be confident in yourself, Nanoha, but if you start going around thinking you're invincible, you're going to get hurt. There is always going to be someone better than you, Nanoha, so you need to be ready for when they show up."

"Yeah," said Nanoha softly.

"And on that depressing note," Yuuno interrupted. "I just finished examining your Barrier Jacket, Nanoha, and it's not good."

"Why? What's wrong?" asked Nanoha, worried.

"You're fight with Blitzkrieg damaged your Barrier Jacket beyond repair," said Yuuno grimly. "You'll still be able to wear it, but your defensive capabilities have been severely weakened and all of your barrier wards are gone. All it takes is one good hit to destroy the whole thing."

"What am I going to do without a Barrier Jacket?" said Nanoha. "The bad guys are getting stronger. I wouldn't be able to fight them without it."

"I could create a new Barrier Jacket, easy," said Yuuno. "But it's going to take some time. I'll want to restore all the original features and augment the Jacket to suit your fighting style better. This might also be a good opportunity to set new Modes into the Jacket as well."

"Modes?" Nanoha repeated.

"Transformations for the Barrier Jacket to be used for special situations," Yuuno explained. "After tonight, I'm definitely going to want to add an electric-proof Mode, one preferably made from a composite polymer. I'll probably add in a shock-absorber Mode, for people like Seismic. I'm sure there are other Modes I can add later, but I should focus the main design first."

"Just be sure you work fast, Yuuno-kun," said Nanoha. "Like Lindy-san said, there is always someone better out there, and who knows how long it will be before they show up."

* * *

Mizuiro sat behind his desk, his fingers folded in front of him, watching the flat screen television that adorned his office wall, Lawson dutifully at his side. The news caster was just finishing up his report on of the power station fight. He could see Gregory Gordon, ashen-faced and quite dazed, being shoved into the back of a squad car by Lt. Yagami herself. Mizuiro turned it off.

"Wish Gordon had been a little more careful about destroying my property," said Mizuiro, massaging his temple. "The city is going to expect me to provide the money for all the damages."

"You seem very carefree," said Lawson, "considering that the White Devil is still alive and the prototype suit has been destroyed. And, of course, Gordon is in prison again. Shall I make the arrangements for his release?"

"Not this time, Lawson, let him stew in his defeat," said Mizuiro, spinning around in his chair, gazing out to the city skyline. "I never expected Gordon to win against the White Devil; quite honestly, he exceeded all of my expectations. The suit was equipped with a miniature camera equipped with a specialized lens that reads a target's Linker Cores – very expensive stuff. The camera recorded all of the White Devil's data, so now we have an edge for next time. As for the suit itself, I have the original design stashed away. We can build another one any time."

"Even if defeat, you always find a way to win," said Lawson.

"I don't pay you to kiss my ass, Lawson," said Mizuiro, turning around. "Have you made any progress on the list yet?"

"I have," said Lawson. He pulled out a tablet from under his arm and handed it off to his boss. "And I selected candidates I thought would be best suited for the task."

Mizuiro turned on the table, greeted by a long index of various people with their names, descriptions, and various price ranges next to them. The Leviathan hummed, thumbing through the list quite fast, his eyes barely glancing at the names as he went through.

"Samus Aran is too well-connected TSAB," said Mizuiro. "And Cad Bane has screwed me over too many times already….No….No….Not even in this or the next lifetime….No….No….Howard the Duck? Really? No….N – wait a minute!" He sat up straight in his chair, staring at the picture at the very bottom of the list. A wide grin crossed his face. "Yes….She's perfect, and well within my price range. Get her for me, Lawson," he added, showing the picture to his second.

"Are you sure, sir?" asked Lawson, uncertain. "You know her reputation – "

"Her reputation is exactly why I want her," Mizuiro interrupted. "Get her for me, Lawson. Get me the Grim Reaper."

* * *

**Yukari Tamura: **A friendly visited turned to a raging inferno. The White Devil faces a true monster with little regard for life. Still weak and vulnerable, the White Devil jumped into the blaze to save her friends. Next time on the White Devil:

**Are You Hot (nano)?**

**Nanoha: **Magical! Lyrical! I'll do my best!


	6. Are You Hot (nano)?

**The White Devil**

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha © Masaki Tsuzuki  
All Characters © Respective Owners.

* * *

**Lyrical Record 5: Are You Hot (nano)?**

It was that time of the year again. It was the annual time when the short chilly nights stretched into long, sunny days; the gray clouds rippled away for clear sunshine and everyone walked the streets with a fresh spring in their step: Summer had finally returned to Uminari City. The season was always a favorite for everyone. Shop owners would eagerly await tourists visiting for Uminari's famous beaches, teenagers would flock to the mall for summer sales, and the children would run freely until the sun set hours later. The only thing that would make this summer perfect, in Nanoha's opinion, is if she didn't have to go to work in the blazing heat. And, unfortunately, that phrase was rather literal in this instance.

Half-a-dozen UCPD squad cars were wailing in Uminari's downtown district. This was nothing new to the people who lived in Uminari as there was at least some trouble taking place once a day, ever since the White Devil came to their town. But today, those sirens were accompanied by a chorus of blaring horns; they sounded like firetrucks. Driven by curiosity, everyone in the area converged on the noise, where their expressions transformed into those of shock and bewilderment.

The Fabulous Fashions department store was set ablaze; women screamed and fainted for the loss of discount shoes and blouses than the actual fire itself. Flames as high as ten feet were shooting through the windows; the heat so intense that the curious onlookers could feel it all the way behind the police barrier. Once or twice, an explosion went off and most people ducked their heads in fear. The police and firemen were surrounding the building, hosing the flames through multiple windows, but the more they tried to douse the flames, the stronger they seemed to become. In absence of the levelheaded Signum, the police sergeant that worked under her was running around the scene, trying and failing to appear calm while throwing out random instructions to his men.

"Er, er – Tashiro, keep the people back like you're doing….Oh, Yamato, try to put out those flames…which you are already doing, good work….Ragia, you…just do something that Lieutenant Yagami would tell you to do!" He leaned against his squad car, holding his head in his hands with a look of panic fairly obvious. "Oh God, why did Lieutenant Yagami have to take the day off today?"

"Sir, there are still a civilian trapped inside!" said an office, running up to him. "We don't know how, but appear to have overlooked one."

"Son of a – " the sergeant swore. "Send someone inside to pull them out, or something!"

"We tried, sir," said the officer. "But we believe they are trapped somewhere on the seventh floor and the fire has gotten completely out of control on the first, second, and third floors; we can't safely navigate through it. The fire suppression system has been disabled and firemen are trying to put out the fires, but by the time we get up there, we might be too late."

"But then – what if – how can – " the sergeant sputtered helplessly. "Ooh, why did Lt. Yagami have to take the day off! Isn't there anyone that can help?"

"Whoa – hey, watch it – no, no, no, no – Raising Heart, pull up –PULL UP!"

The police and the crowd shot their heads up, brows raised in a peculiar fashion. They could see the White Devil fluttering around in the air as she normally did, but Uminari's superhero seemed looked to be out of sorts. Typically as majestic as the soaring eagle, the White Devil shot through the air in one direction, stopped, then was shot backward into another direction like she was being tugged by an invisible string, shrieking with shock and fright. She then suddenly stopped above the crowd, hovered for a moment, and then let out a surprised yelp as she flew backward into the building across the street, leaving a human-shaped imprint in the wall. The crowd groaned and winced; a couple people took pictures with their camera phones. The White Devil ripped herself out of the concrete, rubbing her forehead to relieve the throbbing. She felt a sharp tug on her chest and, shrieking loudly, shot across the street into the burning department store, smashing through the glass window.

Down below, the sergeant and the officer stared, openmouthed.

"Was that that White Devil?" asked the office.

"I have no idea," said the sergeant, scratching his head.

* * *

On her back with her head throbbing painfully from the sudden crash, The White Devil had to take a moment as she massaged her forehead to understand the situation. She dragged her hand down her face, staring up at the cracked ceiling slowly chipping away, the dust falling into her eyes, making her flinch. After a moment to clear her head (and remembering the building was on fire) the White Devil reared her legs and kicked back up to her feet, just as Raising Heart blinked to life again.

"**Linker Core connection reestablished - ****Mana storages recharging – all available spells unlocked.**"

"What's the deal, Raising Heart?" the White Devil asked indignantly. "That's the fourth time in the last two hours you cut me off."

"**Forgiveness, Master,**" Raising Heart apologized. "**Connection with Barrier Jacket has become increasingly unstable and showing signs of repeated malfunctions. I am attempting to maintain a stable connection to Linker Core, but systems have been unfavorable since your confrontation with Gregory Gordon, alias Blitzkrieg.**"

It was true – since her fight against Blitzkrieg and the White Devil let her ego get the best of her, her Barrier Jacket had taken severe damage that, according to Yuuno, could not be repaired. Her Jacket sleeves had been ripped clean off, exposing her thin arms, which were covered in tiny scraps and cuts, and her once white hood had been charred black as coal. The worst of all was her favorite red ribbon; it had been completely incinerated in the fight and, though Nanoha had tried replacing with a handmade one, she just felt naked without it. But beyond her fashion problems, Nanoha's magic suffered the worst: one lucky strike from Blitzkrieg had damaged the connection between her Linker Core, her Barrier Jacket, and Raising heart, making even the simplest spells like flying ten times more difficult than it should be.

Nanoha sighed heavily; flying was her favorite part of being a magical girl.

"**Master, sensors have detected one lifeform in the area,**" said Raising Heart. "**Thermal and electromagnetic signatures show that the subject is due west. They appear to have stopped moving; perhaps they have been trapped in the fire.**"

"Lead the way Rising H – WHOA!" The White Devil yelped, sidestepped a slab of cement that nearly fell on her head. "And make it fast. This building doesn't look like it's going to hold out for very much longer."

While the Intelligent Device relayed its information to her, the White Devil turned on her heel and sprinted in that direction; she didn't feel safe flying through fire with a damaged Barrier Jacket. As she made a turn at the counter selling half-priced jeans (which she thought was still too expensive for pants), the White Devil leapt back as one of the support pillars collapsed in front of her, tearing off parts of the ceiling as well. The White Devil pushed on, climbing over the rubble, ducking her head as she charged through rows of flaming dress racks. Three times the White Devil threw her hands over her head as nearby glass cases exploded from the heat and pressure, peppering the young superhero in shards of glass, and every time the White Devil regretted it as she was reminded that her arms were no longer covered, and the glass cut deep into her skin.

The White Devil let out a small whimper; she was not used to this kind of pain; she usually had her Barrier Jacket to protect from any real harm. But the White Devil reminded herself that this was not the time to be weak; there were lives in danger and she needed to be strong for them. So she blinked away the tears building up in her eyes, took a deep breath to choke her sobs, and ran the rest of the way through the blaze, ignoring the embers licking her wounds.

After Raising Heart had her charge into the shoe department and pass the sportswear section ("I really could use some new ones," said the White Devil, "these are literally falling apart") the White Devil slid to a stop at what could only be described as a sacrificial effigy. Bundles of clothing and belts were bound together in the shape of a human and strung up by its neck from the crumbling ceiling while being sent aflame. A circle was drawn on the floor beneath the effigy, the lines drawn in gasoline and also set ablaze, and symbols of an unknown religion burning even brighter than the flames devouring the store. And in the center of the circle she saw the back of a person, kneeling to the effigy, hands folded in prayer.

The unknown worshipper's face could not be seen underneath the hood of his/her red-and-black padded jacket – the use of the jacket itself seemed extraordinary to the White Devil for the person inside would surely be cooked alive. They also wore military-style camouflage cargo pants with at least half-a-dozen pockets and a belt carrying just as many. Military-grade combat boots and gloves only matched the rest of his/her appearance.

The White Devil hesitated for a moment as she moved closer, stepping over the flaming symbols. She could hear the person muttering very fast under their breath; from the bits she could hear, it sounded like the voice belonged to a woman. Slowly, very cautiously, the White Devil tapped the hooded woman on the shoulder.

"Hey, buddy, you mind moving a bit?" said the White Devil. "Because I don't know if you have noticed, the whole place is on fi - ."

Before the White Devil could have the chance to finish, the strange worshipper spun around, shooting up to her feet, and swinging around a serrated knife that was also laced with flames. The White Devil leaned backwards matrix-style and narrowly dodged the edge of the fire knife; the heat tickled the bridge of her nose. The White Devil quickly jumped several feet away from the pyromaniac, leering at her attacker's face. Unfortunately, she couldn't see the woman's face as it was covered by a goalie's mask that had been painted red and orange like flames – this woman had no sense of style, the White Devil thought.

"I can't put my finger on it," said the White Devil sarcastically, "but something tells me you're not a nice person."

"_**Are you meant to be the Devil of White?**_" said the pyromaniac with a soft accent. "_**I had heard of your deeds across the seas to my homeland and feared that you would appear as a true devil, spreading lies and discord across the land of the rising sun. But you are human. No, you are worse than human – a heretic. Anyone who carries the name of a devil is truly a harbinger of evil.**_"

"W – what is she saying?" said the White Devil, very confused. "Is that…English? Raising Heart, what's the big deal? Why can't I understand her?"

"**Universal translator is offline,**" said Raising Heart. "**Damage assessment – data corrupted. Probability of repairs: 2.6%. I am sorry, Master, but the translator cannot be fixed.**"

"That's just great," the White Devil groaned. "How am I supposed to use my witty, yet admittedly non-hilarious, puns if I can't even understand what the bad guy is saying? Okay, okay – take a moment, Nanoha, you can do this. You at least know _some _English from school, though I really wished I paid more attention. Okay, let's give it a try." She cleared her throat and spoke again with an unnecessarily heavy accent, struggling to say the words, "_**Hugh…are…you?**_ Yeah, I think I got that right."

"_**My human name is worthless and unimportant,**_" said the pyromaniac. _**"You will come to know me as Scorch, a Herald from the Church of the First Flame. I have been given a mission from God to purge the seeds of evil from this world and pave the garden that will be Paradise. This…mall is a den of greed and self-indulgence. Those with wicked hearts flock to these unscrupulous temples of commerce, constantly desiring more than they need. This unholy feeding ground of avarice must be razed so that the hearts of man must be cleansed of corruption.**_"

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, okay, I think I got it," said the White Devil, nodding thoughtfully. "So your name is Scorch and you're a bad guy. That's all I need to know."

Giving Raising Heart a little twirl, the White Devil stepped back a few more feet and summoned half-a-dozen balls of Mana energy (as she recently discovered was all she could make in her current condition). But before the heroine could shoot, Scorch shoved her hands into one of her many pouches, pulled out a red canister, pulled the pin off the top, and tossed it in an arc toward the White Devil. The Devil didn't wait for the canister to hit the ground; she jumped behind the store counter, holding her hands over her head. The explosion went off somewhere close; the Devil could feel the floor rumble beneath her and the flames roared with renewed vigor. One of the support beams must have given out as chunks of marble and concrete feel from the ceiling, some coming very close to crushing the White Devil's head.

The moment passed quickly and the rumbling stopped.

The White Devil cautiously raised herself up to her knees, carefully poking her head over the counter. She quickly dropped back down as Scorch took a swipe with her flaming knife. The White Devil bounced back from the dodge and jabbed Raising Heart into the pyromaniac's face; her mask was surprisingly tough not to break on impact. Scorch fell on her back, her knife sliding away and falling through a crack in the floor. Seeing her chance, the White Devil hopped on top of the counter and summoned another half-dozen Mana balls, only this time managing to shoot them. Scorch showed considerable athletic ability as she spun herself around, legs sweeping around the air, pulling herself into a handstand, all the while dodging the White Devil's shots.

Scorch pushed back to her feet, reached into one of her pouches, and pulled out another incendiary grenade; the White Devil shot it out of her hand before she could pull the pin.

"You would think the bad guys would learn by now that the same trick never works twice," said the White Devil, pointing Raising Heart like a rifle. "Not to sound arrogant or anything – I learned my lesson last time – but you're in a bad position. Surrender quietly and we can get out of this raging inferno you started."

"_**You dare stand in the way of God's will, heretic?**_" said Scorch angrily. "_**You have defied the noble mission of God's messenger. You will be judged in the flames of God's wrath, burning in eternal damnation for your sacrilege – **_"

"I have no idea what you're saying!" shouted the White Devil irritably.

"**Master, above!**" said Raising Heart suddenly.

The White Devil's head shot up. A spider web of cracks was forming on the ceiling and large chunks of gravel started to fall on top of her. The White Devil jumped backward as a particularly large fragment dropped on where she once stood, crushing the counter beneath its weight. As she landed, the White Devil looked back at Scorch, who pushed through the flames and charged at the heroine, duel-wielding two flaming knives.

The pyromaniac swiped one knife across and jabbed the second shortly after; The White Devil blocked using Raising Heart's rod and then ducked under the second strike. However, Scorch raised her foot and kicked the White Devil under her chin, throwing her off the ground in an arc. While the Devil was still in the air, Scorch flipped one of her knives around, grabbed it by the tip, completely ignoring the fire on her skin as if she didn't feel it, and threw the knife in a beautiful curving motion. She was shocked when the White Devil spun around in midair, slapping the knife away, and aiming Raising Heart at her, taking a quick shot back. The Mana ball slammed into Scorch's chest, sending the pyromaniac flying into a display of mannequins.

The White Devil flipped backwards and landed safely on her feet. Scorched emerged from the mannequin pile, throwing plastic limbs around and glaring at the hero through the eyeholes in her mask.

"Aw, you look are fired up," said the White Devil jokingly. "You see, if you understood what I'm saying, you'd probably get a kick out of that one."

Scorch tossed the last of the mannequin pieces with a furious yell, jamming her hand into her pouches again and pulling out another incendiary grenade. She threw the grenade at the White Devil and charged in immediately after, flaming knife gripped tightly in her hand. The White Devil easily shot the grenade in mid-air, making a small explosion. Scorch pushed through the cloud of smoke that formed and dived at the White Devil with her knife in front. Smirking, the White Devil held Raising Heart parallel to herself and –

"**Linker Core connection lost!**" said Raising Heart. "**All spells are currently offline.**"

"Are you kidding me!" the White Devil shrieked.

The White Devil stared down her Intelligent Device in complete bewilderment, almost expecting it to say "April Fools". But Raising Heart didn't say anything, she couldn't say anything.

Before the White Devil could utter a word of indignation toward Raising Heart, she was brought back to reality by Scorch's furious yells. The masked pyromaniac was directly overhead and took a stab at the White Devil's chest. With a thrill of terror, the White Devil stumbled out of the way of the flaming knife's path. But she realized too late that Scorch had followed up with roundhouse kick to the head that knocked the White Devil off her feet once more and into the store window, smashing through the glass.

The White Devil blinked the dizziness from her eyes and looked down (or up, as her case would be). She could see the street cluttered with squad cars, fire trucks, and curious civilians trading around the police barriers. It took a moment for it to sink in. Then she began to fall.

The White Devil screamed uncontrollably, knowing that she didn't have her magic to protect her. The street started to get closer and closer and she could already imagine the look on everyone's faces when she –

"**Linker Core connection reestablished – ****Mana storages recharging – all available spells unlocked.**"

"Then what are you waiting for?" the White Devil yelled. "**Floater Field! FLOATER FIELD!**"

The UCPD jumped back as three pink Magical Circles formed on the ground, one floating over the other. The White Devil turned around with back facing the ground, curling herself as tightly as possible as she landed. The triple barrier spell groaned under the sudden weight forced upon it, but managed to hold itself up. The White Devil stayed in her ball for a long moment and then, once knowing she wasn't splattered on the ground, let out a huge sigh of relief. The Floater Field slowly lowered the White Devil to the ground before vanished and the UCPD immediately flocked to the tiny hero.

"Devil, what happened?" asked the Sergeant. "Did you find anyone in there?"

"Yeah, I did," said the White Devil grimly. "The person who started the whole mess. She called herself Scorch – at least I think she did; I couldn't understand her because she was speaking English."

"Is she still in there?" asked the sergeant.

The White Devil looked up at the building store; an explosion went off in one of the windows.

"Seriously doubt it," said the White Devil. "She's probably long gone by now. I'll have to figure out how to track her down later. But first" – a quick breeze blew by and the White Devil cringed; a sudden pain in her arms flaring. She looked at her arms, covering from shoulder-to-fingertip in cuts, scrapes, and burns – "I have another problem I need to deal with first. Dr. Shamal is going to chew me out for this, I just know it."

* * *

Uminari University Hospital was thankfully not very far from the downtown commercial district – just a few miles up the road, across the street from Uminari City University; Nanoha still feels ashamed it took her so long to figure out where the name came from. The hospital had not always been as well maintained or readily equipped as it is today, but that was before the White Devil began her war on crime and criminals started coming through the E.R. in droves. The University Hospital boasted having some of the best doctors in the country (thanks in no small part to the local superhero), including the leading medical practitioner, Shamal Maserati.

Shamal, a kind-faced woman with short blonde hair and a natural bedside mannerism, but is not afraid of scolding a patient for being particularly stupid or reckless (the White Devil could certainly attest to that). The day had been a slow one for her; no new patients had been admitted which could only mean that the local superhero was either having an off day or just skipped crime fighting altogether. Shamal sincerely wished it was the latter, but she highly doubted it. But at the very least, she now had time to focus her attention to patients who deserved her attention.

One such patient was Hayate Yagami, who had been eased out of her wheelchair and onto the examination table in her office. Hayate was a regular of Shamal's; they had been scheduling regular check-ups every two weeks, some of which she had been forced to miss due to hero-related injuries and burns. Shamal really liked Hayate – she was sweet and innocent if not a little snarky from time to time. But what Shamal really liked about their regular meetings was the lovely police lieutenant that joined them. The way Signum carried herself, so strong and full of confident, yet gentle and soft-spoken with her younger sister. Not to mention, she has a tight little – Shamal quickly shook her head, her face feeling very hot, and focused her attention back on her patient's legs.

"So give it to me straight, doc," said Hayate playfully. "Think I'll be able to tap dance when I get better, because I couldn't before and that'd be really awesome."

"Hmm…I honestly don't know what to say," said Shamal, frowning, looking at her clipboard. "The bones healed months ago, as well as the muscle and tissue. The NCV shows nothing wrong with the nervous system in your legs, nor do there appear to be any obstructions in the veins or arteries. The only abnormality is that your red blood cell count is slightly higher than it should be. Normally this would be due to low oxygen levels in the heart or lungs, but that doesn't appear to be the case." She set her clipboard down and looked up at Signum, who was lifting her sister off the table. "I am utterly baffled by this. By all accounts, Hayate should have regained her mobility months ago."

"Can you think of anything that might be causing it?" asked Signum, easing Hayate into her wheelchair.

"Nothing that I can think of," said Shamal, shaking her head. Looking back at Hayate, she leaned forward and asked, "Are you sure you don't remember anything about the incident, Hayate. Please try to remember; it might help us figure out why you are like this."

"I already told you, I don't remember," Hayate said in a small voice. "I just remember walking home from store because Signum was out on patrol. I was just down the street from our house when I blacked out. When I woke up, I was in the hospital and I realized I couldn't feel my legs."

"She went missing for six months," Signum said seriously. "I searched all over the city and even in the mountains, but I never found her. Then she just shows up on our doorstep, her legs a bloody mess. She hasn't been able to tell me anything about what happened."

"Because I keep telling you I don't remember!" snapped Hayate.

"Okay, okay, just calm down," said Shamal softly, taking Hayate's hand and caressing the back of it with her thumb. "Don't worry, Hayate, I promise I will find a way to help. I'll stake my medical license on it. Now then," she added, turning around to her desk and write on a piece of paper. "I want Hayate back here in two weeks for our regular checkup. If you cannot make it at that time, please call and we'll reschedule."

She rips off the paper and hands it to Signum.

"And please do your best to help Hayate remember what happened. The more we know, the best chance we have of healing her."

"We'll try," said Signum. "Thank you for your time, Dr. Maserati."

Signum wheeled her little sister around and through the door; Hayate quickly waved the blonde doctor good-bye, which Shamal returned with a smile. As they left, they forgot to shut the door. Shamal crossed her office to close it when she heard Hayate's voice coming from down the hall.

"She was totally checking out your butt, Signum. C'mon, you have to ask her out now. Everyone knows you have the hots for her."

"S-shut up!" Signum stuttered.

_**SLAP!**_

"OW!" Hayate whined. "You can't hit a paraplegic! That's just wrong!"

Shamal giggled behind her hand before closing the door. She walked back to her desk and flipped through her clipboard looking for her next assignment. She didn't really have much to do for the next hour. Maybe she could catch Signum at the reception desk and invite her for a cup of coffee –

_**Tap, tap**_

Shamal looked up from her paperwork and turned around in her chair; her expression soon turned to one of exasperation. The White Devil was floating shakily outside her office window, waving for the doctor to let her in. Having no other choice since it looked like the little heroine would fall any second, Shamal stood up, walked over to the window, and pushed it open, allowing the White Devil to land safely inside.

"What did you break this time," said Shamal, "and am I going to have to send the paramedics to cuts someone else down from a lamp post?"

"It's nothing that bad," said the White Devil, chuckling nervously. "Cut a few cuts and scrapes. Figured it'd be better to go to you than explain it to mama and papa."

"Oh, all right," said Shamal. "Take a seat on the table."

The White Devil did as she was told. Shamal opened her supply cabinet to retrieve the usual items for the White Devil's visits: antibiotic cream, a roll of bandages, a pair of tweezers, and a wash cloth. As Shamal dampened the cloth under the sink, the White Devil grabbed the rim of her hood and mouth cloth and, without the slightest hesitation, pulled them away. Had it been either Signum or Hayate, they would have freaked out realizing that Nanoha Takamachi was the local superhero, but Shamal hardly batted an eye. The doctor merely took her seat again and started scrubbing the blood off Nanoha's arms. She was conscious of Nanoha wincing after brushing up against a few cuts and leaned in closer for a better look.

"Looks like you have some glass shards inside the wounds," said Shamal, picking up the tweezers. "How did this happen? Don't you have that – what did you call it again – Barrier Jacket? Isn't it supposed to protect you?"

"I'm currently suffering a…wardrobe malfunction," said Nanoha, wincing occasionally as Shamal ripped the shards from her skin. "I'm trying to build a new one, but it's gonna take time. Till then, I'm trying to be more careful."

"And how is that working out?" said Shamal. She removed the last shard and grabbed the antibiotic cream. "So who was it this time? Tailwind? Seismic? A giant three-headed Godzilla robot?"

"No, but that would be so cool!" Nanoha said, laughing. "She called herself Scorch. I couldn't understand her because she was talking in English, but I think she might be some kind of cult nut – she was praying to an effigy in the middle of a burning building. I thought I had a good shot at her until my magic blinked out again."

"So she's still out there?" asked Shamal.

"Yeah, somewhere," said Nanoha. "And knowing my luck, she'll probably come looking for me."

* * *

Down on the first floor, Signum wheeled her sister out of the elevator into the reception area toward the front desk. There was already a long line formed, which Signum thought was odd considering the place was practically empty half-an-hour ago. Looked like most of them were burn victims. Meanwhile, Hayate was still pouting, rubbing the area on top of her head where Signum hit her.

"I'm serious; you should totally ask her out," said Hayate. "It's so obvious that you have a crush on her, and anyone with eyes can totally see she has a thing for you. Why else do you think she was sneaking glances at you the whole time?"

"I'm not asking Dr. Maserati out," Signum said firmly, though she could not hide the dash of pink on her cheeks. "And since when have you been so involved in my love life – not that I have or need one," she added quickly.

"Cause you're my big sister and I just want to see you happy," Hayate said sweetly. Signum stared at her in a way that said she didn't believe a word. "Hey, don't give me that look, I'm totally being serious her. Ever since mom died and our deadbeat dad left us, you've been so busy taking care of me that you hardly have time for yourself. And you have even less time now that you're chasing vigilantes and supervillains up and down the city. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but I wish you would think of yourself for once."

"Well, I'm happy your worried about me," Signum smiled, ruffling Hayate's hair. "But I'm very busy. The UCPD really needs me – my dumbass of a sergeant can't even make a cup of coffee without me holding his hand. I can't just take time off to go on a – a date."

"Your sergeant is an idiot, there's no denying that," said Hayate. "But the city isn't going to burn down just because you take a night off. There are lots of dependable people at the station that can take over for you, and the commissioner would totally be fine with it. C'mon, just ask Shamal out for one date. If you still feel that way by the end of it, you can just go back to work and forget it ever happened. But I seriously doubt that'll happen; you two are a perfect match, I can tell."

"…I'll think about it," Signum mumbled.

"That's the spirit!" Hayate said cheered.

Signum said nothing as the line slowly started to move; her thoughts on the beautiful blonde doctor and the potential for a night out. But the question was what they were to do if – and that's a big 'if' in Signum's mind – Shamal accepted. Signum didn't have a clue what it meant to 'go out' with someone. Men and women alike tended to avoid her because she came off as intimidating, and the ones that were brave enough to ask her, Signum immediately rejected because there was something wrong with them. Signum sighed. Here she was trying to make her little sister get a social life when her own was just as bad.

Suddenly, someone kicked the doors open. Signum spun around. Scorch marched purposely inside the hospital, grenade in hand, a menacing stance in her form. The burn victims in line immediately screamed and ran down the hall when they first caught a glimpse of her. Signum moved herself to shield Hayate, reaching for the pistol she kept in her back pocket.

"Signum…who's that?" asked Hayate worried.

"Trouble," said Signum.

Scorch pulled the pin

* * *

"So I say to the guy," Nanoha said, giggling under her breath. Shamal only listened with an amused smile while wrapping her arms. "I say to the guy, 'That's not a chicken, that's my – "

Whatever Nanoha was about to say went unheard when an Earth-shattering _**BOOM **_resounded from below their feet, shaking the entire office. Shamal and Nanoha jumped to their feet as a natural reaction; Shamal pressing herself against the supply cabinet doors before the glass could fall out. The rumbling stopped almost immediately. In the distance, Nanoha could hear people screaming and sirens wailing. Shamal stared at Nanoha, looking frightened.

"That sounded like it came from the first floor!" she said.

"I just can't catch a break, can I?" said Nanoha, pulling up her mask and hood. "Shamal, try to get everyone in the building evacuated. With my Barrier Jacket the way it is, I don't feel confident that I can stop it."

"Okay, but try not to get yourself killed," said Shamal. "I'd hate to be the one to explain to your father why his precious little angel has been bisected."

"Don't worry, I can – wait, that's how you think I'm gonna die?" asked the White Devil, her brows disappearing under her hood. "That's kinda dark."

Shamal shrugged.

The White Devil stared at her for a moment, not sure what to think, when another rumbling _**BOOM**_ brought her back to reality. The White Devil pushed open the window and jumped out (she couldn't let anyone see a superhero flying out of Shamal's office – there'd be too many awkward questions.) She dropped from the third floor toward street level, only using her magic to float the last few feet from the ground due to her magic becoming unreliable as of late. As she landed in the hospital parking lot, she looked through the glass of the front doors with great difficulty; there was a haze of black smoke blocking her vision.

"Oh no, please tell me she didn't follow me here," The White Devil mumbled.

Before the White Devil could investigate, the front doors flew open and a body was thrown out. The White Devil braced herself and caught the body, only sliding back a few feet. She looked at who she had caught and was surprised to see Lt. Yagami in her arms, a small cut on her right cheek and the shoulder of her shirt sliced open. Signum shook her head from a daze and looked up at the Devil.

"You!" Signum hissed venomously. "Somehow, I knew you would be involved."

"Whaddya blaming me for? I um…I just got here," said the White Devil feebly.

"It always comes back to….Wait a minute, where's Hayate!" Signum yelled.

The glass of the front doors exploded outwards while the frame fell off their hinges, smacking the ground with a loud _**clang**_. Scorch emerged from the inferno blazing inside holding Hayate close to her chest with a flaming knife in her free hand.

"Hayate!" Signum screamed as she attempted to rush them, but the White Devil pulled her back.

"Hold it!" said the White Devil urgently. "You can't just charge in half-cocked – that's my shtick. Besides, if you make any sudden moves, there's no telling what she could do to Hayate."

"But – "

"Just trust me this one, all right?" asked the White Devil. "I promise I would never let anything happen to Hayate. Just…let me handle it for a minute."

Signum's expression looked like she would rather jump down a well of acid than to trust the miniature vigilante, but one look at her baby sister being held hostage by the pyromaniac was enough to convince her. The police lieutenant reluctantly gave her consent and stood back. The White Devil rounded on Scorch, taking a few steps closer to the cultist while maintaining a distance where she wouldn't feel threatened.

"Okay, let's try this again," said the White Devil, clearing her throat. "_**Let – hare – go – before – I – butt – kick.**_ Did I say that right? I think I said it right. Yeah, I'm sure I said it right."

"_**You show yourself before the messenger of God once more, Devil in White,**_" said Scorch harshly. "_**It would seem appropriate that your heresy would thrive in this citadel of sin. This…hospital…it claims to heal the weak and ail the sick, but that is blasphemy – only God can heal; only God can forgive. Those who preach of sickness and injury are heretics who have allowed sin into their hearts and mind, for sickness is acceptance of evil itself – **_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down!" yelled the White Devil, waving her hands frantically. "I can't keep up with all that! Um…okay, I think she said something about a…a hotdog, maybe? Is that right? You want a hot dog? Are ya hungry? Cause I know this really great diner three blocks down from – "

"Do you even understand a word she is saying?" said Signum blandly.

"Give me a break!" snapped the White Devil. "English is a very hard language to understand!"

"She's saying something about heretics and God and whatever," said Hayate, looking bored rather than threatened. "Sounds like a bunch of cultist mumbo-jumbo."

"You can understand her?" asked Signum.

"IQ of two-twenty, remember?" said Hayate smugly. "Hold on let me translate – " She cleared her throat, looking up at her captor. "_**Hey, you might want to put me down now? The White Devil is a superhero and she's probably going to kick your butt anyway. I don't even want to know what my big sis is going to do to you – he can get pretty nasty when she's angry. So why don't you just set me down nice and quietly and let them cart you off to jail - **_"

"_**Be silent, sinner!**_" Scorch yelled. "_**You who have been deemed weak in the eyes of God does not have the right to speak such a way to his messenger. You who have paid for your sins with your legs. But while God is a forgiving deity, I am not. The world must be cleansed of your infected existence – **_"

"_**Dude, picking on a paraplegic is so not cool**_," said Hayate.

"_**Silence!**_" yelled Scorch, raising her knife overhead. "_**Be cleansed in God's holy flames!**_"

"And I think that's enough of that," said the White Devil, holding out her staff. "Raising Heart!"

"**Divine Shooter!**" said Raising Heart.

With a wave of her Intelligence Device, a single ball of Mana formed and shot across the lot, exploding against the pyromaniac's wrist. Scorch dropped both the knife and Hayate in favor of holding her wounded limb. Signum immediately tackled the masked cultist to the ground while the White Devil jumped in, lifted Hayate into her arms, and took off into the air. She carried Hayate across the street to the university rooftop, setting her down gently.

"Stay here until I come back," the White Devil ordered.

"Oh darn, and here I was hoping to get that 5K in today," Hayate said sarcastically.

"Hey…" said the White Devil with a warning.

Hayate crossed her arms, pouting. The White Devil rolled her eyes before jumping off the edge and gliding back to the fight. As she looked down to the hospital parking lot, she saw Signum and Scorch rolling across the asphalt, one occasionally dominating the other before being flipped around. Finally, Scorch lifted her boot to Signum's abdomen and kicked her off. Both of them were quickly on their feet; Scorch pulling out another knife and igniting it with a lighter. The White Devil leaned into a dive when –

"**Linker Core connection lost!**" said Raising Heart. "**All spells are currently offline.**"

"Are you kidding meeeeee?" The White Devil screamed.

The White Devil flailed her arms as she started dropping out of the air. Hearing the hero's shriek, Signum turned and looked up just as the White Devil crashed into her, knocking them both down on the ground.

"What are you doing?" said Signum. "Get off of me. What's the big idea landing on my head?"

"Yeah, here's the thing," said the White Devil nervously. "I'm…temporarily out of magic juice, so I can't really fly…or lift cars…or make shields…or shoot pink beams of death…or any of my usual awesome superhero moves.

"Please tell me this is some kind of joke," said Signum.

The White Devil shrugged her shoulders with an anxious chuckle. Signum scowled. As she craned her head backward, she saw, with a bout of panic fluttering in her chest, Scorch bringing her flaming knife down on top of her head. With no time to give a proper warning, Signum lifted her legs and pushed the White Devil into the air and ducked out of the way. Signum rolled back up to her feet and shot a quick jab at the pyromaniac's face, making her stumble. Seeing the White Devil still in midair, Signum grabbed the tiny hero by the hand and spun her around in a full circle, using her momentum to allow a solid kick to Scorch's face. The pyromaniac performed a spectacular flip and landed on her side.

Signum set the White Devil down safely on the ground; the tiny hero shook her head free of the dizziness.

"Next time you feel like using me as pair of nunchaku, fill me in ahead of time," said the White Devil.

Scorch pushed herself up to her hands and knees, leering at Signum and the White Devil through the eyeholes in her mask. She moved to a kneeling position – Signum and the White Devil flinched defensively – and lifted up her right sleeve, showing off a strange contraption strapped to the inside of her arm. Nanoha couldn't tell what it was; it just looked like a sloppy mess of wires and machine parts. She pulled up her left sleeve and showed off a similar contraption strapped to her forearm. Scorch lifted both her arms, palms forward, and hit the side trigger with her thumbs.

Signum and the White Devil immediately jumped out of the way as sprays of ferocious flames blew out with a great roar like a wild beast. Signum jumped and rolled over the hood of the car behind her and the White Devil ran to the left, only to accidentally trip on her own foot. It was very fortunate she did; the flames chased after the tiny hero and only just missed the top of her hood when she fell.

"Flamethrowers? She has flamethrowers?" screamed the White Devil.

Scorch aimed down at the White Devil. Before she had a chance to pull the trigger, Signum appeared around the car and pulled the White Devil by the arm, saving her at the very last moment. The police lieutenant dragged the White Devil up and led her to the other side of the parking lot, still maintaining a firm grip on her hand, like a mother guiding their child to school. Signum pulled them around an abandoned van and ducked behind it; the White Devil finally took her hand back.

"This is getting out of hand," said Signum, peeking over the hood of the van. "We have to take her out before she burns the entire city down. And with you having magic problems or whatever the case is, it looks like it's up to me to handle this. Gah! I wish I still had my gun, but I dropped it inside. So stupid."

"Hey, don't count me out just yet," said the White Devil seriously. "I'm not completely helpless without my magic. I've been training for such an eventuality in case my magic ever failed me."

"So you think you can take her?" asked Signum.

"It'll be a lot easier if we both work together, like we did with Seismic," said the White Devil. "But we can definitely take her. In fact, I noticed two very important things in the past few minutes. First off, Scorch doesn't seem to be good at close-combat; she has a knife, but she doesn't know how to use it properly. That's probably why she uses flamethrowers and grenades to fight at a distance. If we can just get closer to her, we take her out no problem."

"And the second thing?"

"It's a really bad idea to hide from a fire themed villain behind a van full of gasoline," said the White Devil.

Signum's expression made the White Devil think she hadn't realized something so obvious. They heard the roar of the flames and immediately ducked out of the way before the van exploded. The White Devil hit the ground at a roll and was already on her feet while Signum slid across the asphalt, leaving a nasty scrape on her arm.

Scorch walked through the flaming wreckage like a scene from a science fiction movie Nanoha once saw, staring menacingly down on them. Scorch lifted her arms and this time it was the White Devil's turn to pull Signum out of the way as the pyromaniac spewed flames at their heads. The White Devil grabbed the police lieutenant by the back of her shirt and pulled as hard as she could, which really wasn't much because she didn't have magic to boost her strength, but it was enough to get her out of danger. Signum got back up just as Scorch turned her flamethrowers in their direction.

Scorch's thumb was on the trigger, ready to burn them, when the White Devil saw a large rock on the ground. She had an idea, but she doubted it would work – well, it was better to try and fail than to never try at all.

With that in mind, she took a large step forward, pulling back Raising Heart as if it were a hockey stick, and slapped the rock at Scorch. To everyone's utter bewilderment, the White Devil's shot hit one of the cylinders of the flamethrower on Scorch's right arm. The device began to spark and Scorch immediately unstrapped it and threw it away; the flamethrower burst apart in a tiny explosion. Scorch turned back to the White Devil with her remaining flamethrower, but soon came face-to-face with Signum, who grabbed Scorch by the arm and flipped her over her shoulder. Scorch hit the ground hard on her back while Signum grabbed the flamethrower and ripped it off her forearm, throwing it away.

Regaining her senses, Scorch pulled out yet another knife ("How many of those does she have?" said the White Devil) and stabbed at Signum's hand. The police lieutenant pulled back before she was cut and Scorch kick-flipped back up, spinning around with her knife outwards. Signum raised her arm to block the swipe. Scorch seemed visibly disturbed by the menacing glare Signum was giving her; the lieutenant was done messing around.

Signum reached around, grabbing Scorch by her wrist and twisting it until the pyromaniac relinquished her grip on the knife. Scorch was cringing behind her mask; Signum had her in a painful wrist lock and was pulling harder every second. Acting desperate, Scorch shot her leg up at Signum's face, but the lieutenant merely knocked it away with her free hand before moving Scorch's forearm out into a pronating wristlock and slamming her face first into the hood of a nearby car. Scorch slammed her fist on the hood; the White Devil could hear the small whimper coming from behind her mask.

"Consider yourself under arrest," said Signum. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law."

"Isn't that what they say in America?" said the White Devil. "Do we even have anything like Miranda rights in Japan?"

"_**You…you will not win…heretics…**_" Scorch grunted, weakly reaching into one of her pouches. "_**For I possess…the blessing of God. You will all be purged…in God's holy flames…**_"

Scorch pulled out an incendiary grenade. Signum stared at her, eyes wide with shock. There was no way she was insane enough to use a grenade at point blank, right?

But she was; Scorch pulled the pin without hesitation.

Signum immediately let go of the pyromaniac and followed the White Devil over the nearest car, holding their hands over their heads as the grenade exploded on the other side, rattling the car behind them and sounding off every alarm in the lot. The both of them waited for a long moment, neither one saying a word to each other as they peeked over the edge. They could see the wreckage of melted metal and burning upholstery, but they couldn't see Scorch amid the plumes of black smoke puffing from the dead engine.

"Did she just - ?" said Signum.

"Yep," said the White Devil.

"Do you think she's – ?"

"Nope, look," said the White Devil, pointing.

They saw a shadowy figure stumble helplessly through the smoke, its hand reaching out towards them. They had no doubt that it was Scorch, somehow still alive after blowing herself up, but they were not expecting what they saw when she emerged from the haze.

As to be expected, Scorch was practically naked as most of her clothing had been burned away from the blast, but one could hardly tell she was a woman just by looking at her. Scorch's entire body was charred black and covered in scar tissue like she had been roasted in an oven for several hours, but none of them looked fresh – the majority of them looked like they had been there for years. The most disturbing part was the mask. Rather than being incinerated like the rest of her clothing, the mask was perfectly pristine, the edges looking like they had been burned into her face and merged with her skull. Just one look at the woman and the White Devil could feel her stomach churning.

Scorch stumbled clumsily across the asphalt, her skin still smoking, clutching a single incendiary grenade that had somehow survived the explosion, glaring at them through her mask.

"_**You…you see…**_" Scorch slurred. "_**God…God protects me…he chose me as his…his messenger. You cannot…cannot hope…to survive the wrath…of God. So now...now you burn in God's…glorious…glorious flames…**_"

Scorch reached for the grenade pin and the White Devil and Signum positioned themselves to run, but before she could pull, she felt a sharp sting in the side of her neck. Her vision started to blur and her brain became drowsy. Within a few seconds, she fell unconscious to the ground.

Signum and the White Devil stared at the unconscious pyromaniac for a moment then looked up to see Shamal standing over her, holding an empty syringe in her hand.

"What did you do to her?" asked the White Devil, moving close at poking Scorch with the end of Raising Heart.

"I just injected her with 2000 mg of Methaqualone," Shamal explained. "It was the strongest sedative I could find. It's nothing dangerous, mind you; we mostly use it as a muscle relaxant and a cure for insomnia. Because of all the scar tissue, she was more vulnerable to the effects. She'll be out of it for several hours; long enough for her to be escorted off to jail."

"I gotta remember that trick next time," said the White Devil.

"**Linker Core connection reestablished – ****Mana storages recharging – all available spells unlocked.**"

"Are you kidding me?" said the White Devil, gaping at her Intelligent Device. "You the _worst _time of anyone I have ever known, Raising Heart."

"**I'm sorry, Master,**" Raising Heart apologized.

"Oh, Signum, you're arm," Shamal said suddenly, grabbing the police lieutenant's limb. The scrapes were bigger and bleeding. "You need to let me get this check out. Come back to my office this instant before it becomes infected."

"Uh…okay, sure…," said Signum, very aware that the doctor was holding her hand.

The White Devil chuckled and shook her head; those two so obviously liked each other. Figuring that Signum would call to pick up Scorch, the White Devil took off into the air and started making her way downtown; there was a shop she had been wanting to visit that was selling decorative charms at half price. Though for a moment, the White Devil couldn't help like she had forgotten something.

"Hello!" Hayate screamed from the University roof. "Is anyone going to get me down from here? Hello! You can't end it on a note like this!"

* * *

" – _the scene from earlier today where the White Devil has added yet another villain to her Rogue Gallery outside Uminari University Hospital. While no one was injured in the conflict, many people are showing concern that attacks from these so-called supervillains are becoming more frequent and crediting these attacks to the White Devil. While the general polls still show that many citizens support the White Devil, one has to wonder if she is good for Uminari City – "_

Mizuiro Kaiju clicked the television off, disgusted by the reporter's readiness to blame the city's savior. It was true that Mizuiro didn't much like the White Devil for ruining his operations, but he had to give credit where credit was due. She saved a lot of live today, including some of his own men that were in the hospital at the time. He almost felt ashamed that he had to get rid of her. Almost.

"This city has a problem," said Mizuiro. "A little girl who thinks herself a hero by going against me and those who work for me. But she doesn't understand the importance of my position. She doesn't understand that I am the only thing keeping this city from falling into chaos. Luckily, there isn't a problem in the universe that can't be solved with w little bit of money."

"And that's why you called me," said a soft and smooth voice behind Mizuiro. "You want me to kill her."

"I'm not in the business of killing children," said Mizuiro. "I just want you to teach her a lesson; show her that her actions have consequences. I want you to ruffle her up some much that she'll think twice of messing with my operations."

"I don't usually hold back on missions," said the smooth voice. "If you want her alive, it will cost you extra."

"I'm already paying you fifty million in Mid-Childan credits, don't push your luck," said Mizuiro. "The question is do you think you can handle it? The White Devil is surprisingly skilled at magic, especially for someone at her age. I'd wager she's even stronger than I was when I was in my prime."

"No offense to you, but I've seen you in your prime and you hardly compare to me," said the voice. "I promise you by the end of the week, I will have broken the White Devil."

"Then I wish you good luck in your efforts…Grim Reaper," said Mizuiro, smirking.

* * *

**Yukari Tamura: **The bond between friends can be strong, but also brittle. The strength of a true friendship rests on the trust shared between them. But as her two lives begin to converge on each other, a child must make a choice between her friends and her mission. Next time on the white Devil:

**Are We Friends (nano)?**

**Nanoha: **Magical! Lyrical! I'll do my best!


	7. Are We Friends (nano)?

**The White Devil**

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha © Masaki Tsuzuki  
All Characters © Respective Owners.

* * *

**Lyrical Record 6: Are We Friends (nano)?**

By the time she was walking to school, Alisa was already in a bad mood. The night before the new episode of her favorite anime had been cancelled in favor of some debate about an old guy running for prefecture governor, she had to choke down the spinach they had for dinner so the Tsukimuras didn't think she was ungrateful, and in the middle of the night, one of Suzuka's cat sleep on her face and nearly suffocated her. It only got worse this morning: Farin had shrunk her favorite shirt in the wash so that it could only fit a doll, just before tripping over and dumping the milk jug all over Alisa's head. After everything that had happened, it was understandable for her to be sour. The only thing that could have lifted her mood was walking to school with her best friends, Suzuka and Nanoha. But, once again, she was left severely disappointed.

Alisa and Suzuka had left early to meet Nanoha at Midori-ya on the way to school, but when they arrived Shiro told them that Nanoha had already left close to twenty minutes before. Alisa was fuming; her cheeks puffed out in a cute little pout that made Suzuka giggle.

"Mou, I can't believe her," Alisa grumbled. "That's the sixth time this month Nanoha's been skipping out on us. Doesn't she know we have better things to do than to wait around for her? How rude!"

Now, now," Suzuka said calmly. "I'm sure it's not Nanoha's fault. She has a lot of responsibilities."

"What responsibilities?" said Alisa. "We're ten year-old 4th graders. What kind of responsibilities could she have."

"Maybe…" said Suzuka, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe Nanoha is really the White Devil and she out beating the bad guys up right now."

Alisa and Suzuka stared at each other for a long moment in silence. Then the both of them burst with laughter; Alisa needing to use to her knees to stop herself from falling over.

"Tha – That's a good o-o-one!" said Alisa, snorting behind her hand. "Ooh…thanks, Suzuka, I needed a good laugh. But I'm still mad at Nanoha. Who does she think she is ditching us like that?"

"Why don't you call her and ask her?" Suzuka suggested.

"You know what, I think I will," said Alisa.

Alisa wasted no time whipping out her cellphone and pounding her thumb on the number two key, speed dialing Nanoha's phone. She held the phone to her ear. The phone rang once…twice…three times…. But when the cellphone rang a fourth time, she heard a beep and a soft voice answering, "Hello?"

"Where are you, Nanoha?" Alisa asked heatedly. "Suzuka and I were waiting for you outside Midori-ya for ten minutes before your dad told us you already left. Where are you?"

"Gomen, gomen," Nanoha apologized. "It's just…Yuuno-kun got out earlier and I've been trying to catch him."

On the other side of the phone, Alisa could hear a lot of strange noises: a high-pitched squeal of tires, police sirens wailing in the background, and repeated popping that sounded a lot like gunshots.

"What's all that noise?" Alisa asked worried. "Are you in the middle of a police chase?"

"W-what?" Nanoha stammered. "No, no, of course not! That – that would be ridiculous!"

But right at the moment of Nanoha's response, a large Box Truck swerved around the corner at the end of the street Alisa and Suzuka were on, tires leaving wide skid marks on the road as it turned. The truck zoomed past Alisa and Suzuka as the White Devil came around the corner, followed shortly by a squad of police cars hot on both of their tails. The White Devil didn't even notice her best friends were watching from the sidewalk; her attention was divided between chasing down the truck and the voices in her earpiece.

The man in the passenger seat was leaning out the window with a gun, but the White Devil pulled to the back of the truck out of his line of sight. Her Barrier Jacket was still malfunctioning and she didn't want to run the risk of using a barrier only for it to break the next second. Then the cargo area door flew up and the other five men sitting in back appeared. As the gang members started unloading their clips, the White Devil quickly pulled up into the air; the shots that missed hit a couple of the squad cars trailing behind, causing them to veer off the road. The White Devil looked over her shoulder for a moment, relieved that no one was hurt behind her, then put in another burst of speed.

She was now flying directly over the box truck. She started creating a cluster of Mana orbs with Raising Heart aimed at the truck head when –

"**Linker Core connection lost!**" said Raising Heart. "**All spells are currently offline**."

"You cannot be serious!" Nanoha screamed as she started to fall.

"Nanoha, what's going on?" Alisa screamed in her earpiece. "Nanoha, are you all right?"

She wanted to scream that she was far from all right, falling flat on the cargo area roof, hitting her head against the metal surface. The White Devil sat up, rubbing the reddening area on her forehead, letting a childish whine leave her lips. When the White Devil looked up, she noticed that two of the henchmen inside were crawling up over the edge to meet her. The White Devil quickly jumped to her feet, standing rather unsteadily from the trunk swerving through the street.

"Nanoha, what was that noise?" asked Alisa. "Where are you? What's happening?"

"Hey, listen, I thought I just saw Yuuno-kun, so I have to go," the White Devil said quickly. "I'll talk to you later at school, all right?"

"Nanoha – "

The White Devil hung up right as the two henchmen reloaded their clips and shot the little hero. She stepped back a few feet and crouched low against the box roof, thanking God that they had terrible aim. One shot came close to her face and the White Devil rolled sideways out of instinct, nearly sending her over the edge. The White Devil flailed her arms in windmill motions trying to thrust herself back on, sighing in relief when he feet were firmly planted. But the henchmen were not letting her gain a moment of respite; they both took another shot at the preteen superhero. And – to this very day – Nanoha could never figure out how she did it, but she reflexively spun Raising Heart around and somehow deflected the bullets right back at their hands, causing them to lose their guns over the side.

"Okay, that was kinda cool," said the White Devil. "Unrealistic and can probably never happen again, but still cool."

Having lost their guns, the pair of henchmen ran at the White Devil with their fists raised, yelling out a strange little battle cry. The White Devil grinned smugly under her mask; she felt much more confident in close-quarters combat. The two men charged at the superhero together, but the White Devil ducked underneath the first thug's arm before stabbing Raising Heart's rod into the second henchman's abdomen, following by an uppercut. The thug only stumbled a few feet – the White Devil couldn't hit as hard without her magic. Growling angrily, the henchman rushed at the White Devil with his arms spread out, but the White Devil performed a specular slide and slipped through his legs. At the same time, the first thug had tried to kick the White Devil from behind, but because the Devil slipped under, he inadvertently kicked him partner below the belt. The poor man dropped to his knees, holding himself as his voice reached a new pitch.

"I know you guys are the brightest bulbs in the bunch," the White Devil called from the opposite end, "but how in the world did you think you were going to get away with it? Robbing a crowded bank in broad daylight with the cops getting breakfast across the street? At what point did you think that was a good idea? And if that wasn't enough, you forgot to bring the bags you were supposed to put the money in. You guys are seriously hitting all the tropes here."

"(Beep) you!" said one of the henchmen

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" the White Devil yelled. "Watch the language! We're trying to keep this PG!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Don't apologize!" the other henchman shouted. "Get her!"

The dimwitted henchmen turned and charged at the Devil – well, one of them stumbling more than charging. When the men are nearly on top of her, the White Devil suddenly drops onto her back and lifts Raising Heart parallel to her body in the air. The Henchmen are unable to stop themselves and their ankles get caught by Raising Heart's rod, causing them to trip over the edge of the roof. There was a distant sound breaking glass. The White Devil turned over. It looked like both men had crashed through the window of the local flower shop - the Devil made a mental note to apologize to Miss Gainsborough later.

The White Devil pushed herself up to her hands and knees, but before she had the chance to steady herself, the truck suddenly made a sharp turn left. The Devil's foot slipped and she rolled over the edge of the cargo container, but thankfully managed to grab the edge of the roof at the last second.

Hanging by one hand on a speeding truck swerving down the road at seventy miles an hour, the White Devil knew it was only a matter of time before she would be thrown off. So before she was cast off, she reached her hand into one of the secret pockets of her Barrier Jacket and riffled around for what she needed. She pulled out a tiny silver disk – no bigger than a ¥1 coin – with a faintly glowing red dot. She slapped the disk on the top corner of the cargo box, which made a soft beep.

"I really hope this works or Yuuno-kun is gonna get an earful of – "

Whatever Yuuno was going to get went unsaid as the truck made turned another sharp corner, this time throwing the White Devil. It was like watching the world in slow motion after; she became aware of the squad car flying towards her and the windshield that she would no doubt be splattered across. For the briefest moment, she could see the person inside trying to swerve around to avoid hitting her, but they were both moving too fast to avoid collision now. The White Devil braced herself for impact –

"**Linker Core connection reestablished – Mana storage recharging – all available spells unlocked**."

_**CRASH!**_

The White Devil groaned; her body throbbing painfully. That, at least, was a good indicator that she wasn't dead yet.

The squad car screeched to a stop, nearly throwing the White Devil off had she not been lodged into the car's windshield. With a grunt of effort, the White Devil pulled herself out, very much away of the shards lodged in the back of her Jacket, and looked up the street. She couldn't see the trunk of failed bank robbers anywhere; they were long gone.

"They got away," said the White Devil. "I'll have to worry about them later. Right now I have bigger things to be worry about."

"That's putting it mildly."

The White Devil internally groaned; figures that out of every squad car in Uminari City, she would have to hit the one owned by Lieutenant Signum Yagami, who was poking her head through the hole in her windshield, frowning.

"Should I just give you the number of my insurance company for future reference?" said Lt. Yagami. "I'm sure you would have a lot to talk about on superhero policy."

It looked like she was going to be late for school. Again.

* * *

After four long class periods and a stern lecture about the importance of punctuality, the bell finally rang for lunch hour to Nanoha's immense relief. Not to say that the classes were a challenge – next to Alisa, she was the smartest in their class – but it was disorienting to discern between the classroom and the cloud-filled training area she had created in her mind. She knew her eyes had a tendency to appear glazed over, which made the teachers think she wasn't paying attention and call on her; she would, of course, guess the answer correctly and they would overlook it.

Nanoha pulled her desk together with Alisa and Suzuka as they always did, but she noticed that Alisa wasn't as enthusiastic about lunch as she usually was. Nanoha couldn't help wonder why; lunch was everyone's favorite part of the school day. Did Noel perhaps fill her bento full of spinach in a valiant – and often fruitless – attempt to make Alisa eat healthier? But one look at that fancy hamburger steak – the kind you would never see at Nanoha's house – and her theory was debunked. Maybe her cellphone was broken again? Nanoha could remember vividly Alisa's rage-fueled rampage when one of the cat's dropped it into the street from the two floor balcony. But that wasn't the problem either as Alisa pulled out her flame-decaled phone from her pocket to check her emails.

Nanoha pouted. Their table was too quiet; they had a reputation of being the nosiest group in class only because Alisa liked to express herself audibly. But the girl had not said a word in the past ten minutes, choosing only to focus on her bento. In response, Nanoha tried to keep her mind on her lunch as well, purposely pushing the cherry tomatoes off to the side.

It was too quiet; the atmosphere was so tense that even Suzuka could see it. Her eyes shot nervously between her two best friends. She needed to say something fast!

"Er, Nanoha, did you ever find Yuuno-kun?"

"What?" Nanoha said thoughtlessly. "Oh, oh yeah, I did. Caught him making a run for it at the park. You know, the one where we found him last year? I guess he was trying to run back to his old home or something. Glad I caught him before he could get hurt; there are a lot of big dogs at the park in the morning."

"It's great that you found him in time," said Suzuka rather forcefully. "Isn't that great, Alisa?"

"Yeah, whatever," Alisa said coldly.

The table became quiet again; Suzuka sweat-dropped. She needed something to say again, anything would do. ANYTHING!

"Oh, hey, Nanoha, you remember the Rabbit House we were talking about visiting the other day?" said Suzuka desperately. "We didn't get a chance to go last time because you…. Actually I don't know where you went. But that doesn't matter. I was thinking maybe the three of us could go after school today."

"That sounds like fun," said Nanoha, smiling. "Papa wanted me to check it out anyway because they're attracting a whole lot of business away from Midori-ya. We should check it out together and find out what's making them so popular. Then we can use it to make Midori-ya even more popular."

"Ooh, it's like a spy mission," Suzuka said excitedly. "That sounds so fun. I wish classes would end earlier.

"Try not to get your hopes up, Suzuka," said Alisa. "Nanoha will just end up ditching us at the last second and leave us disappointed."

"Alisa!" Suzuka gasped.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nanoha demanded, feeling rather insulted.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Alisa retorted. "Every time we make plans to do something together, you always make some kind ridiculous excuse and leave us hanging.

"That's not true," Nanoha argued.

"For three weeks straight," said Alisa, narrowing her eyes angrily, "you put off visiting Suzuka and I at our house because you said Yuuno-kun kept putting his tail in the light socket. I know Yuuno-kun might not be the brightest ferret in the world, but even he isn't that dumb. And then there was the time we were all going to see that new movie – Magical Girl StrikerS – and you couldn't make it because your mom needed milk. Then there was the time we were on the school academic team and you couldn't make it to the competition because you twisted your ankle – "

"Hey, that was real!" Nanoha snapped. "I – I mean, they're all real of course. You know I wouldn't abandon you guys unless I had a good reason to. You're my best friends."

"Best friends don't keep secrets from each other," said Alisa. "And I know you're keeping a secret Nanoha. It's the only thing I can think of that would give you a good reason for never being there for us. I'm willing to put everything behind us if you just tell us what it is."

"I…I…" Nanoha stammered.

Nanoha stared down at her hands, which were bunching up the cloth of her skirt. She knew that Alisa was right, that friends shouldn't keep secrets from each other, but how could she possibly explain this. 'I'm a superhero that flies around shooting magical pink beams of death at bad guys' doesn't usually come up casually over lunch. But if she didn't tell them something, she might just lose her best friends. Nanoha grimaced. Why couldn't she be like Batman – that guy doesn't have any friends.

Just then, Nanoha felt someone touch her hand and looked up at Suzuka, who was smiling softly.

"I'm sure Nanoha has a good reason not to tell us," Suzuka said calmly. "And that's all right. We all have our little secrets that we don't want anyone else knowing about. For example, Alisa, I'm sure that you wouldn't want Nanoha to know that book hidden under your bed is actually – "

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Alisa yelled quickly, her arms flailing and her face burning red. "Fine, you win, I'll stop bugging her about her secret. But you better straighten up you act, Nanoha Takamachi. No more breaking promises, got it?"

"I swear I'll make it up to you," Nanoha said earnestly. "We'll stop by the Rabbit House this afternoon and order one of everything on the menu – papa's paying for it, of course. He really wants to beat the competition. Then we can – "

"**Nanoha, can you hear me?**" Yuuno called over the mental link, to Nanoha despair. "**I need you to come by Admiral Harlaown's apartment after school. I want to get some final measurements for your new Barrier Jacket, as well as examine the energy output of your Linker Core so the Jacket doesn't fail or overload when connected.**"

"**Now's not the best time, Yuuno-kun,**" said Nanoha. "**I promised Alisa and Suzuka that we would go to the Rabbit House this afternoon. They're already mad about me breaking off our other meetings.**"

"**I get that, Nanoha, I really do,**" Yuuno said sympathetically. "**But while you're flying around the city with a broken Barrier Jacket, the bad guys are getting stronger. You barely lucked out against Scorch the other day and you failed to catch a bunch of thugs this morning. If you're really serious about being a superhero, we need to get this done as soon as possible.**"

"**But – **"

"**This is for your own good, Nanoha,**" said Yuuno. "**I'll see you later.**"

Before she could argue, Yuuno cut off their connection. Nanoha frowned. She hated doing this after literally just promising not to break another promise, but she needed to look at this from a bigger perspective. If she could get a working Barrier Jacket, her magic wouldn't constantly flicker, meaning she could fight better, meaning she could keep more people safe, including Alia and Suzuka. She let out a big sigh; this is going to suck.

"Er…I just remembered I was supposed to take Yuuno-kun to the vet for a check-up," Nanoha mumbled. "Sorry, guys…"

"Gee, what a shocker," Alisa said sarcastically. "You know what? Suzuka and I will visit the Rabbit House after school without you. And don't bother walking home with us anymore, as if you even care."

"Alisa!" Suzuka said horrifically. "Nanoha, don't listen to her; she's just upset."

It was sweet of Suzuka to make an excuse, but Nanoha knew she deserved it – she was a horrible friend.

The bell rang at the end of lunch period and the three of them pushed their desks back to their original positions, facing the front of the classroom as the teacher walked back in. For the rest of the school day, Alisa refused to speak or even look at Nanoha, and that only made her feel worse. She really was a horrible friend.

* * *

Nanoha kept her word and ran straight to Lindy's apartment once classes were over, thought she did so halfheartedly knowing that Alisa had been ignoring her the whole day. She took a seat on the admiral's very comfy couch, head resting on her knuckles, frowning. Lindy was in the kitchen her favorite green tea with four spoons of sugar, which Nanoha and Yuuno immediately declined when offered, and the ferret himself working his way around four holographic monitors simultaneously.

Thanks to Raising Heart and Yuuno, Nanoha was smarter than any average ten year-old girl, but Mid-Childen tech always threw her for a loop. Piles of equations flew by on three of the monitors that Nanoha couldn't even hope to follow. The only one she understood was the image on the fourth monitor, which showed an outline of her new Barrier Jacket. There wasn't a whole lot of differences compared to her old Jacket, but the chest and shoulders were noticeably bulkier and it looked Yuuno had included new armor plating on the forearms. The one complaint she had was Yuuno replacing her favorite ribbon with a three-point crest; she liked her ribbon!

"This goes here…and that goes there…" Yuuno mumbled. "All right, I think I got it. I should be able to determine the output regulation to compensate for the weight of the Barrier Jacket with these results. You'll notice immediately that your new Barrier Jacket is a little heavier than what you're used to."

"That's nice," Nanoha said absentmindedly.

"I've added several field generators to the new Barrier Jacket," said Yuuno, "especially around the arms, shoulders, and chest since those are the areas that take the most damage."

"Great," Nanoha mumbled.

"The field generators will increase your defensive abilities to one hundred and fifty percent," Yuuno continued. "But I had to compensate these fortifications by reducing your speed and agility to fifty percent, so you will be noticeably slower than before. I figured you talent for guided projectiles would make up for this and you would take a more long-ranged approach in fighting from now on.

"Yeah, good idea," said Nanoha, staring at the floor.

Just then, Lindy walked into the room, raising a brow at the grade school girl.

"Yuuno is pregnant and is naming his ten kids Fifi?" Lindy said to Nanoha.

"WHAT?!" Yuuno shrieked horrifyingly.

"That's nice," said Nanoha, her eyes still locked on the carpet.

"All right, emergency counseling session," said Lindy, setting down her over-sweetened tea and taking a seat on the couch. "What's wrong, Nanoha? You're been acting out of sorts since you arrived. Did something happen at school?"

"Well…kinda…" Nanoha said reluctantly. "It's just…Alisa-chan and Suzuka-chan are really mad at me, and they have a good reason to be. I've been the White Devil for nearly a year and I still haven't figured out how to balance my normal life with my superhero life. Every time I make plans to spend time with them, there's always some supervillain blowing up a gas stations or an underground sewer cult sacrificing chickens to their Cthulhu god."

"Yeah, that one was really weird," said Lindy; Nanoha pouted. "Sorry, please continue."

"I don't like lying to people," Nanoha bemoaned. "But I hate lying to my friends and family even more. I'm always – what's that American word – flaking on them and they've always tried to be understanding, but I guess Alisa-chan finally had enough. She shouldn't have to deal with such an unreliable friend. Ooh…" She brought her legs to her rest and rested her forehead on her knees, moaning. "Sometime I think it would be better if I told them who I really was. If they knew I was the White Devil, maybe they would understand why I can't always be there."

"Hmm, I see your dilemma," Lindy hummed. "I don't blame you for wanting to tell them your secret, and I wouldn't be opposed if you did, but you have to consider the consequence. If you told them that you are the White Devil – if you brought them into our world – they would never be allowed to leave. There are a lot of people that hate the White Devil, some of them as dangerous as Blitzkrieg or Scorch. If any of them found out that your friends knew the White Devil's true identity, they would hunt them down and torture them, or something even worse. There are a lot of dangerous people that will have no trouble harming little girls if it means getting what they want. Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't tell them about the White Devil – I personally think it would be wonderful if we had more allies – but you need to consider the outcome. Once you've made a choice, there will be no going back. You need to decide whether it's worth the risk."

"Can't you decide for me?" Nanoha moaned childishly.

"This is a problem you need to deal with on your own," said Lindy, setting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "But no matter what choice you make, I'll support you just as I always have been."

"Me too," said Yuuno.

Nanoha moaned louder into her knees; these two were not making it any easier.

She took a moment of silence to consider the pros and cons of telling Alisa and Suzuka her secret. If she did work up the nerves to admit that she was the White Devil, they would undoubtedly understand her reason to bailing on them daily and support her crusade; Alisa would undoubtedly gush that her best friend was also her role model. But if she did tell them, she couldn't be certain that they could keep her secret. Suzuka was reliable to a fault, but Alisa never wasted an opportunity to boast, especially when she scored top grades in class. It wouldn't be too far off to think that she might end up blurting that she knew the White Devil's identity when others didn't. Nanoha couldn't bring herself to imagine what would happen if someone like Blitzkrieg or even the Leviathan captured them. And she would know, with a heavy heart, that she was solely responsible for dragging them into it.

Nanoha was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice a loud beeping noise in the room until Lindy shook her shoulders hard and looked up. Yuuno swiped away the Barrier Jacket blueprints and replaced them with an overview map of Uminari City. A red dot was flashing on the far left side, which Yuuno zoomed in on.

"Looks like the robbers from this morning triggered the tracker," said Yuuno. "It looks like they've holed themselves up in a storage warehouse near the Uminari Shopping District, not that far from Midori-ya in fact. Not a very original place to hide from the police."

"From what I saw this morning, originality is not their strong suit," said Nanoha, jumping up. "I'll be back in an hour."

"You're not going to fly in half-cocked, are you?" Lindy questioned seriously.

"No, I learned my lesson from my fight with Greg," said Nanoha. "My Barrier Jacket is still acting up, so I'll be to be extra careful. Just fly in and out. Relax, what's the worst that could happen?" she added to Lindy's concerned face.

"Why'd you have to say that?" Lindy groaned.

* * *

Coincidentally, Alisa and Suzuka happened to be in the Uminari Market District at that time. They were just leaving the Rabbit House; the tiny bell above the door signaling their exit and the perky waitress requesting for them to "Come again soon!" Suzuka smiled as she and Alisa walked down the street, humming a little tune. She was happy that they had finally visited the café; the service was excellent, the menu exotic, and tiny girl with the fluffy rabbit on her head was just adorable. The Rabbit House was very different from Midori-ya in terms of atmosphere and products. Perhaps she should tell Mr. Takamachi next time they visited Midori-ya…that is, if they ever visited Midori-ya again.

Suzuka glanced at Alisa out of her peripherals. In contrast to her, Alisa was more subdued by the end of their trip, which did not fit with her eccentric personality. Her eyes were unfocused on the ground, not really knowing where her feet were taking her. Her hands were closed around a paper bag with the Rabbit House's logo on the front, the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through. Suzuka grinned.

"It was nice to finally visit the Rabbit House, don't you think, Alisa?" said Suzuka.

"Yeah…" Alisa said monotonously.

"It reminded me of the French cafés we visited during our summer in Europe," said Suzuka.

"Uh-huh," Alisa said absently.

"Aaaand," Suzuka continued playfully. "I couldn't help noticing that you bought an extra Tippy Bread before we left. Any plans on giving it to someone special?"

"What?" yelped Alisa, snapping out of her stupor. "N-n-no! Of course not! I just…I thought I might get hungry later and wanted to take some home with me."

"Oh, what kind did you get?" asked Suzuka, smiling.

"…apple cinnamon butter," Alisa mumbled.

"Nanoha's favorite," said Suzuka, giggling. "Just admit it, Alisa, you wish Nanoha had come with us."

"So what if I did?" said Alisa, pouting. "It's not like she would have showed up. She's always running off somewhere, being all secretive. We're supposed to be her best friends and now she won't even tell us anything anymore. And it's not just recently either. It's been almost a year since she started acting all weird. She disappears at the weirdest times, like last week when that Tailwind guy broke into Kaiju's company. And when she does tell us she's leaving, she always comes up with a lame excuse that usually has something to do with Yuuno getting set on fire or something. It's just not fair that she has to keep us in the dark. Doesn't she know that she can depend on us if she needs to? Sometimes, I wish I could just hate her."

"But you don't," said Suzuka gently. "You could never hate Nanoha. You might get mad from time to time, but you could never hate her."

"Yeah, I know," said Alisa. "We've been best friends since the first grade."

"Yeah, when you stole my ribbon and Nanoha slapped you for picking on me," said Suzuka, giggling.

"I said I was sorry!" yelled Alisa, her cheek turning a shade of red.

Suzuka chuckled softly, making a mental note of how cute Alisa was when she is flustered, and said, "Nanoha isn't the type of person to break a promise so easily. Whatever she is dealing with now, it must be very important or else nothing would stop her from hanging out with us."

"I just wish I knew what it was," said Alisa. "I know we could help if she just told us."

"And I'm sure Nanoha knows that too," said Suzuka. "So until she does, I think the best thing we can do is support her, even if it makes us a little mad or upset. At the end of the day, Nanoha is still our friend and I'll bet you she would say the same thing to us."

"All right, all right," said Alisa, holding her hands up in mock surrender. "I'm sure you have a whole heartwarming speech prepared, but I rather not hear it right now."

"Aww," Suzuka whined. "But it was so good."

"I'll bet it was," said Alisa, looking down at the bag in her hand. "Hey…um…do you mind if we make a quick stop on the way home. I just wanna…you know, drop this off at Nanoha's house. I already paid for it…and I'm pretty full right now, so I'd be such a waste…"

"I think that would be a good idea," said Suzuka happily.

Just as they came to a decision, a blur of shadow passed over their faces. Alisa and Suzuka shot their heads up in time as the White Devil passed above their heads and turned at the corner.

"It's the White Devil!" Alisa said excitedly, grabbing Suzuka by the arm and pulling. "Hurry, before we lose her!"

"Wah! Wait, Alisa!" Suzuka yelped, trying to keep in pace with her friend. "Alisa, wait! We can't just run after the White Devil like this! What if she's on a dangerous mission?"

"Only if we're lucky," said Alisa, grinning wide. "This is the first time we'll ever get to see the White Devil in action up close. Don't you want to know what she's like? What kind of person she really is, and not the way the news makes her out to be?"

"Well…I am a little curious," Suzuka mumbled. "But we can't get too close, or we might get hurt."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Alisa. "Hurry up; I think she went down this alley."

With a sigh of reluctance, Suzuka allowed herself to be pulled through the dirty and foul-smelling alleyway into the next street over and stopped, appearing to have lost sight of the White Devil. Not wanting to give up the pursuit of her favorite superhero, Alisa looked toward one end of the street to the other and compared them. Heading up would lead them back to the market street, which by now would be crowded with weekday shoppers and high schoolers getting out of classes. The other direction would lead them to the less populated areas that were mostly comprised of storage facilities and heavy machinery used by big name companies like Tsukimura Enterprises. Alisa didn't need to be top of her class to know which direction made the most sense.

Alisa grabbed her friend's arm again and pulled her down the street, nearly ripping her arm out of her socket according to Suzuka. The noise of the Market District was getting softer as buildings of brick and mortar were gradually replaced by the pipes and steel. Alisa looked to the sky ahead and caught a glimpse of white before it dropped out of the sky; the White Devil was landing. Alisa put in an extra spurt of speed, nearly dragging Suzuka across the pavement behind her. The two finally stopped in front of one of the smaller warehouses – Suzuka was just glad to be able to catch her breath. The sign in front of the open chain-link fence said the building was owned by a small company called "Be Lead". What the company actually was, Alisa had no clue, but she was certain about one thing –

"This is the bad guy's secret hiding place," said Alisa excitedly.

"How can you tell?" asked Suzuka.

"Because it's so cliché," Alisa said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "In cartoons, the bad guys always make a hideout in an abandoned building or a warehouse. A few times they make bases in abandoned warehouses."

"If that's true, maybe we should call the poli – Wait, Alisa!" Suzuka called after her friend, who ran inside the warehouse. "In what world does it make sense for a couple of fourth graders to run _toward _the bad guy hideout? Alisa! Oh…I swear, if I miss my violin lesson for this…."

Suzuka chased after Alisa. Neither of them had any difficulty getting inside as someone had forgotten to close the door ("What kind of criminal forgets to check the locks of their own hideout?" said Alisa). The pair cautiously poked their heads inside to be sure that no one was walking by or guarding the entrance. Once knowing that the coast was clear, they quietly tiptoed inside like they had seen characters do in cartoons, taking a look around the building. The warehouse itself was nothing impressive: stacks of wooden crates and metal barrels, high-rise windows to allow light inside, a wide catwalk, and an overhead crane used for lifting large cargo. In short, the place had the bad guy hideout stereotype down to a "T" in Alisa's opinion.

Suddenly Suzuka grabbed Alisa by the shoulder, turned her around, held a finger to her lips to tell Alisa to stay quiet, and pointed to the middle of the warehouse. They crept quietly against the stack of crate and peered around. A group of henchmen – the five that escaped from this morning – were gathered around a table, talking back and forth with one another. Alisa may have been expecting them to be talking over their next big heist with blueprints and everything, but the table was a mess of cheeseburger wrappers and empty soda can; if this were an anime, there would be a large sweat-drop on her head now. These guys looked very unprofessional to be criminals; one of them even uh…expelled gas that nearly caused Alisa and Suzuka to vomit. There was no doubt in their minds these were the worst group of bad guys – ever.

"Hey, anybody know what happened to Yuto and Sota?" asked one of the henchmen, taking a look around the table.

"The White Devil threw them off earlier, remember? Probably on their way to jail by now."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," said the henchman. "Well, at least we got away. That's what counts. Betcha we're the first people to actually get away from the White Devil. Pretty soon, all the big shots are gonna know our names and start asking us for favors, even the Leviathan."

"Yeah, we don't need Karma to tell us what to do. He wants to go back to that lame middle school, that's fine by us."

"The fact that a group of adults were taking orders from a middle schooler is rather sad," Alisa whispered.

"Shush!" Suzuka hissed. "They might here us!"

"Relax, they don't seem like the brightest bulbs in the bunch," said Alisa heedlessly. "The White Devil can take them out no problem. Speaking of which, where is the White Devil? I could have sworn I saw her come in here – "

Suddenly, a pair of hands clamp on Alisa and Suzuka's mouths, blocking off their screams as they are pulled away. While Suzuka arms flailed and her eyes widened in panic, Alisa grabbed the captor's surprisingly small hand and tried to pry it off, but their captor was tremendously strong; the hand wouldn't budge a centimeter. The unknown person dragged them all the way to the corner of the warehouse, sticking close to the shadows to avoid being seen by the henchmen. The person finally stopped, removed their hands, and spun Alisa and Suzuka around to face them. The two gasped when they came face-to-face with the White Devil herself; she slapped her hand back on Alisa's mouth before she could scream again.

"What are you two doing here," whispered the White Devil, "er…complete and total strangers that I have never met before?"

"Oh my kami, you're the White Devil!" said Alisa in an excited whisper. "You're the White Devil! You're the White Devil!"

"I think we can safely assume that I'm the White Devil," said the White Devil jokingly.

"Heh! She's funny, too," said Alisa with a snort of laughter.

"Finally, someone who gets my jokes," said the White Devil. "But in all seriousness, what are you two doing here? Didn't your parents ever tell you never to walking into a bad guys lair without parental guidance?"

"I'm just a victim here," said Suzuka, pointing a finger at her friend. "It was dragged along because she wanted to see you."

"I'm a huge fan of yours, Miss Devil – can I call you Miss Devil?" Alisa said eagerly, clasping the White Devil's hands in her own and getting up close and personal, making said superhero very uncomfortable. "I've been following your adventures for over a year, ever since you save Suzuka from those kidnappers, and the time you beat up that crazy clown on Christmas, and when fought that scarecrow-looking guy on Halloween, and when you – "

"Okay, Okay, I get it, you're a big fan," the White Devil interrupted, taking her hands back. She walked around them and crouched behind a stack of barrels, peering around to observe the henchmen. "Look, I'm flattered that you've been following for a long time – and a little weirded out, to be honest – but this is not the time or place to be signing autographs. In case you haven't noticed, there are a few goons hanging around."

"They should be no sweat for the White Devil," Alisa said proudly, crouch next to her idol. "With your powers, you can take them out in a snap."

"My powers haven't been very…dependable, as of late," said the White Devil. "I can't just rush in head-on. I need to have a plan or somebody is going to get hurt; most likely you two. They may not look it, but they could be very dangerous."

"Hey, guys, I just had a great idea for our next job," said the leading henchman. "Everybody knows that cops love to go out for donuts around lunch, right? So I say we wait outside the station in an ice cream truck, because no one would suspect an ice cream truck parked out in front of the police station in the middle of the day. Then when the cops go out for lunch, we can run in and break everybody out of their cells and trash the place."

"Great idea, boss? Should we bring our guns too?"

"Nah, just leave 'em here. All the cops will be out for lunch, so we'll have the place all to ourselves. It's brilliant!"

"Then again, I have been wrong before," said the White Devil, imagining a sweat-drop on her head

"I know I'm not supposed to say bad things about people, but – " said Suzuka.

"These guys are a bunch of morons," Alisa added.

"Yeah, and if there's one thing that I've learned, stupidity is dangerous," said the White Devil, spinning around to them. "So let's get you out of here before – "

But the White Devil turned so fast that she unknowingly smacked Raising Heart's head against the bottom most barrel of the stack, knocking it over. The loud din of the metal cylinder hitting the floor was not the worst that happened. Due only to the White Devil's carelessness, the entire stack of barrels toppled sideways onto the floor, each drum creating a pounding noise as loud as thunder. The White Devil froze in place, stunned by what she had done, and Alisa and Suzuka could only stare at their hero dumbfounded. It was a full, agonizing minute of ear-throbbing banging until the last barrel hit the ground, rolling rather comically past the White Devil and her friends.

" – that happens," the White Devil finished weakly.

The little superhero slowly looked over her shoulder. The henchmen were just sitting around the table, staring at the White Devil along with pair of elementary students, looking just as dumbfounded as they were. Finally, the leading henchman stood up from his seat, pointing at them and shouting –

"It's the White Devil! And she has sidekicks! Get 'em!"

"We're you're sidekick?" Alisa asked excitedly.

"You're not my sidekicks!" snapped the White Devil.

The henchmen jumped to grab their guns off the table, but were hindered when a pink ball of energy hit the underside of the table and threw the weapons to the other end of the warehouse. The henchmen looked up, a couple of them literally shaking, as the White Devil descended upon them from above.

"Watch it, you could poke someone's eye out with those things!" said the White Devil.

The White Devil landed in the center of the group, swiping Raising Heart at the feet of the two men in front of her to knock them on their backs. She immediately noticed one of the men thinking he could sneak up behind her and threw his arms out to nab her, but the White Devil had already jumped out of his arm's reach. She slammed her feet on the faces of the two men she had already dropped to knock them out cold and jumped away again, flipping around to face the other three.

While two of the henchmen charged at the White Devil head-on, the third ran off somewhere on the side, acting like he was looking for something. The White Devil ducked under the punch of the first man that came at her, quickly leaping over the leg of the second man that came at her side. While hovering momentarily in the air, the White Devil grabbed Raising Heart with both hands and brought it down on one of the men's head with all her might; the collision making a loud ring like a bell. The man fell backwards with his eyes white from lack of consciousness. And almost immediately after touching back on the ground, she jabbed Raising Heart's rod behind her, knocking the wind out of the henchman behind her. The man fell to his knees with his arms around his stomach, helpless as the White Devil punched him clean across the warehouse into a pile of crates which fell on his head.

The White Devil smirked under her mask, trying to think of a clever quip mostly to impress Alisa and Suzuka, who were both staring at her starry-eyed. But a sharp click from the side pushed the thought from her mind. The White Devil quickly threw her hand up and conjured a barrier just as she was shower by a rain of bullets. The last henchman seemed to have snuck behind her and grabbed a couple of the guns she had knocked away. But this was hardly considered a threat to the White Devil. Having Raising Heart conjure another energy orb, the little hero guided the energy sphere around her barrier, aiming the attack for the remaining henchman's head. Before the man could get out of the way, the orb exploded in his face, throwing him backward into the wall, before falling flat on his face, unconscious.

"Will you look at that," said the White Devil, sounding happily surprised. "I beat the bad guys and I didn't lose my powers once. This might actually turn out to be a good day for me."

"That was awesome!" Alisa shouted gleefully, running up to her hero.

"That was impressive," said Suzuka.

"If you thought that was good, you should see me fighting real supervillains," said the White Devil rather arrogantly. "But that's for another time – one I hope doesn't come too soon. Now will you please, for once, listen to me and get somewhere safe before the police show up."

"Aw, what's the hurry?" said a distorted voice. "The party's just getting started.

The White Devil raised her brow curiously; turning back to the henchman she had blasted into the wall. From her perspective, the man was still unconscious. Then his right hand began to twitch, followed by his right arm, then his shoulder, then his chest, then to his neck as if some type of parasite was climbing its way up. Suddenly, the man snapped his head up so fast the White Devil could actually hear the bones in his neck crack, making the little hero cringe. The henchman was grinning maniacally, but his pupils were dilated to the fullest that it made him seem as if he wasn't entirely there. The White Devil had seen enough cartoons to recognize mind control, but she never imagined someone could do it in real life.

The controlled henchmen raised himself to his feet without support, appearing as if pulled by invisible strings, his bones cracking so loudly that it made the children want to vomit. Still grinning like a mad man, the henchman slouched closer to them. The White Devil pushed Alisa and Suzuka behind her, holding up Raising Heart defensively. But the henchman soon stopped and the White Devil suddenly heard an orchestra of crackling noises coming from all sides and looked around. All the henchmen she had knocked out where standing up one by one, their eyes fully dilated and grinning from ear-to-ear, shuffling towards the White Devil like zombies.

"Uh...Miss Devil, is this normal?" Suzuka asked timidly.

"When is anything ever normal in this city?" the White Devil retorted.

"Oh, as I live and breathe – well, mostly," said the leading henchman, chuckling at his own joke. "I've been looking forward to meeting you for quite some time, Little Devil, though I had imagined you a bit…taller and more…developed. Sorry I'm not there to make a personal appearance, but I am a very busy supervillain. I got lots of planning to do – lots and lots of planning. Want to make everything perfect for the big surprise I got stored for you. Figured at least I could throw a few of these morons your way to spice up your day, but I should've figured they were too stupid to get even that right."

"Who are you?" the White Devil demanded.

"Oh, how rude of me," said the leading henchman, bowing politely. "I can't think of a more age-appropriate name – I honestly thought you would be older – but for ow, you can just call be Bleed."

"What do you want, Bleed?" asked the White Devil.

"Oh, nothing much," said Bleed casually. "There's been a lot of fuss about the White Devil ever since I came to Uminari a couple months back, and they always say that she is the biggest, baddest superhero since Batman. Obviously, I didn't believe it because no one is as hardcore as Batman. So imagine my surprise when I hear that my boys Tailwind and Seismic are arrested by the White Devil, even after all the tech I provided them.

"You're the one that gave them Mid-Childan tech?" said the White Devil, shocked. "Where did you get it? Was it the Leviathan?"

"Uh-uh-uh, no spoilers," said Bleed amusingly. "Let's just focus on you for the moment, Little Devil. I wanna see if you really are the hero everyone says you are. Ah, but first, I think we should…dispose of any outside influence."

Suddenly, two of the possess henchmen shuffled behind Alisa and Suzuka, pulling their arms behind the back and dragging them away.

"Ow, that hurts!" Suzuka cried.

"Get your hands off of her!" Alisa snarled, struggling against her captor.

"Leave them alone!" the White Devil yelled, holding out Raising Heart. "**Divine Shooter!**"

Swinging Raising Heart around, the White Devil shoots a pair of energy orbs that struck the possessed men in the chest, knocking them flat. Alisa immediately snatches Suzuka hand and runs for safety behind the crates.

Now assured that her friends were safe, the White Devil faced the leading henchman again, nearly thrown off balance by how close he already was. The henchman punched at the White Devil, who reflexively blocked with Raising Heart. Though she had avoided the attack, the force of the punch still pushed her back several feet and her hands stung from gripping Raising Heart so hard. The White Devil shook her hands to relieve some of the tension, but the mind-controlled thugs did not give her respite.

Two men came at her from either side, the first throwing a punch to her head and the other crouching down to sweep the legs. The White Devil jumped only a small bit to avoid the leg sweep and allowed herself to fall backward onto the ground to avoid the punch. He quickly flipped back to her feet, jabbing Raising Heart's rod into the stomach of the man on her left and then slamming Raising Heart's head into the face of the man on her right. Both men stumbled a couple of feet away, but neither showed any sign of discomfort; they were still grinning madly, which greatly disturbed the White Devil.

Just then, another possessed man came up from behind and wrapped the White Devil in a bear hug, lifting her off the ground. The White Devil struggled against the hold while the other three puppet goons ran up to her from the front, already pulling back their fists. Thinking she needed to act fast, the White Devil tilted her Intelligent Device as high as she could with a cry of "**Round Shield!**" The three possessed goons were buffeted by the barrier. The White Devil then created a single Divine Orb that struck the man holding her in the face, forcing him to let go. Once landing on the ground, the White Devil grabbed the man by the arm and expertly flipped him over her should, throwing him on top of the other henchmen. For all the good it did, the White Devil may as well have thrown them into a pile of pillows; they were already standing within a few seconds.

The White Devil started to charge her energy when Raising Heart was suddenly ripped from her hands.

"Hey – oof!"

The leading goon kicked her in the stomach and pushing her on the ground. The White Devil tried to get up, but the rest of Bleed's puppets were already on top of her, pinning her arms and legs down.

"Love the fancy Intelligent Device you have here," said Bleed appraisingly. "Where'd a sweet little girl like you get an amazing piece like this?"

"Give me back Raising Heart!" the White Devil demanded.

"Raising Heart, huh?" said Bleed. "Cute name, though not in very good hands. I was expecting more from you, Little Devil, the way criminals speaking your name in hushed whispers; the very sight of you causes even the bravest of pickpockets to wet themselves. But you're not bad, and you certainly ain't big. Just a kid playing magical girl. Now – " the possessed thug started pacing tapping Raising Heart in his hand. "What to do with you? Throw you in a tank of sharks? Nah, too cliché. Strap you to an electric chair? No, that would be a lot of work. Lock you in a freezer? Ugh, too long. Oh, I know!"

The possessed thug stopped pacing and walked up to the White Devil, staring down upon her menacingly with a wide grin.

"Have you ever heard the story of Batman's second sidekick; it's always been my favorite," said Bleed, lifting Raising Heart above his head. "It's not a crowbar or anything, but I think it's rather…poetic."

And the thug brought Raising Heart down hard across the White Devil's face. The little hero cried out, a familiar throb in her cheek where the blow stuck. Bleed struck again above her ribcage, making it difficult for her to breathe. He beat her again and again using Raising Heart – the Intelligent Device repeating phrases of apology for each blow. The only thing that was preventing Nanoha from sustaining real injury was her Barrier Jacket, which had thankfully not deactivated the entire time. Her Jacket defenses were cushioning the blows, but she could tell it was only a matter of time before they broke down.

"You know, this isn't as much fun as I thought it would be," said Bleed. "Maybe I should let you go so you can learn to be a better hero from this experience…. Nah, I'm just gonna keep beating you to death."

The possessed henchmen pulled Raising Heart for another swing when the Intelligent Device suddenly stopped in place, nearly making the goon trip. Bleed looked back through the henchman's eyes. Suzuka was holding Raising Heart's head in a death grip, glaring at the henchman. Bleed laughed.

"Oh, that's cute, that's real cute," said Bleed. "Let go, princess, before you get hurt."

The henchman pulled at Raising Heart, but the Intelligent Device wouldn't budge. He pulled again; same result. Gritting his teeth, Bleed's puppet grabbed the staff with both hands and pulled all his weight behind him, but the Suzuka would not let go. Then, with a strong tug, Suzuka wretched Raising Heart out of the hands of the possessed thug, who fell on his back, looking shocked.

"Wow, you are a strong little girl," Bleed said impressed as his puppet stood up. "Now listen here, you little brat. Give that back or else I'm gonna – "

Whatever Bleed was going to do, none of them ever found out. Completely out of nowhere, the loading hook dropped from the ceiling and landed on top of the henchman's head with a loud _ding_. The leading henchman dropped to the ground instantly, blood leaking from the back of his head, and it didn't look like he was getting back up. Blinking in astonishment, the White Devil craned her head back to see Alisa standing on top of a wooden crate level with the crane controls.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" asked the White Devil.

"I spent a lot of time in my parent's factories," said Alisa proudly. "The workers showed me how to work all the machines and taught me a few tricks. Like this one!"

The White Devil couldn't see what Alisa was doing behind the control panel, but the humming of machinery drew her attention back to the lifting hook. Alisa raised the hook off the ground by a few feet and charged it at the group faster than the White Devil would have thought possible. The hook nailed the man holding her left arm between the eyes, instantly knocking him out. With her arm free, the White Devil twisted her upperbody around to punch the face of the man holding her other arm, forcing him to let go. She then grabbed the men at her feet by the back of their heads and forced them together; the White Devil flipped backwards the moment they let go.

"Thanks for the save, girls," said the White Devil.

"No problem!" Alisa said excitedly. "It's not every day you save a superhero!"

"You did more than that," said the White Devil. "You found out the trick to Bleed's mind-control. Direct blows to the brain cause their connection to break. Suzuka-chan – " she yelled out to Suzuka, who was being chasing by two henchman " – fencing practice! Aim for the head as hard as you can!"

"How do you know my name?" Suzuka asked, ducking under the henchman's arm. "And how do you know I take fencing?"

"Never mind that, just do it!" shouted the White Devil.

Still looking uncertain, Suzuka spun around to face the henchmen, holding Raising Heart by the end of her rod, the same length as her fencing saber. The first possessed thug leapt at Suzuka, but the heiress elegantly twirled sideways away from his reach, then swung Raising Heart as hard as she could to the back of his head. Alisa and the White Devil could hear the sound of bone cracking even from a distance and the thug collapsed on the spot. Suzuka elegantly pivoted on her toes and faced the second henchman who was only feet away, looking ready to back up. But Suzuka was not about to let him escape so easily; she lunged forward with Raising Heart and slammed the device's golden head into the henchman's forehead, dropping him instantly as Suzuka landed as poised and pristine as ever.

"That was awesome, Suzuka!" Alisa cheered.

"Thanks," Suzuka said, blushing at the praise. "Onee-chan was right; fencing does come in handy."

"Remind me never to make you mad," said the White Devil jokingly. "Okay, that's four losers down and…."

The White Devil turned sharply to her left where the last of Bleed puppets was pressed against the wall, looking furious. The little hero slowly marched across the warehouse with Alisa and Suzuka quickly following behind her; the latter returning the White Devil's weapon. The three girls stopped a few feet from the henchman, White Devil looking menacing, Alisa grinning with confidence, and Suzuka looking rather shy. Bleed, through his puppet's face, grimaced.

"Well, this is embarrassing," said Bleed. "Never thought I'd get my butt handed to me by a bunch of girls who haven't even reached puberty. Maybe I should have planned this out better."

"I'm going to warn you right now, Bleed," said the White Devil. "If I ever catch you causing trouble again, I will hunt you down."

"Oh, I'm counting on that," said Bleed, grinning. "Just not yet. I have big plans, remember? We'll meet again…Little Devil."

The henchman's head twitched furiously as his head tilted up, making choking noises in the back of his throat. The White Devil pushed Alisa and Suzuka behind her with Raising Heart held up, ready to attack in necessary. But when the noises and the twitching subsided, the henchman dropped like a puppet whose strings had been cut. The White Devil looked at her friends with uncertainty. She inched closer, poking the henchman with Raising Heart. He didn't move.

"Looks like Bleed's control over them is gone," said the White Devil.

"That was seriously creepy," said Alisa, shivering. "Who was that guy?"

"No idea," said the White Devil. "Never met anyone who could actually control a person remotely. Whoever he is, he's dangerous. And I get the feeling next time we meet he isn't going to be go easy."

* * *

Twenty minutes and an anonymous call later, police squad cars and paramedic trucks surrounded the warehouse. Lieutenant Signum was obviously leading the operation, having a sneaking suspicion that the White Devil was involved. She wasn't terribly disappointed to find that the White Devil had already scurried away because the Devil was kind enough to leave her a gift of five criminals tied in a nice pink bow. Most of them were taken away by the paramedics, suffering from severe head trauma.

Meanwhile, the White Devil could see the investigation from a distance on the rooftops of the market street. She had wanted to make sure that none of the henchmen had escaped while the police were on their way. Now safely assured that they were headed to a hospital, and then to jail, the White Devil could focus on her next problem. She spun around to face Alisa and Suzuka, both looking like children who knew they were about to be scolded, which they were.

"Not that I am not grateful for helping me," said the White Devil, "but that was a very stupid thing to do. You guys could have been hurt."

"But we weren't," said Suzuka.

"But you could've," said the White Devil. "And I don't think I could have lived with myself if anything had happened to you."

"But you needed our help!" Alisa yelled. "Bleed had you pinned down and he was going to kill you! We weren't just gonna sit by and do nothing! Even if you are a superhero, you're still just a person underneath that costume! Anybody would have done the same! If it had been Nanoha, I would have - !"

Alisa suddenly fell silent, eyes wide and mouth agape. The White Devil and Suzuka stared at her, curious as to what she had to say. Alisa's eyes wandered downward and her expression became somber.

"If it had been Nanoha," Alisa muttered, "I would have done anything to save her, even if it meant getting hurt myself. If anything had happened to Nanoha, I would stop at nothing to get her back, even if it meant I got hurt – no, Nanoha wouldn't want me to get her. She's too nice like that. But still, I wouldn't want anything to happen to her. That's kinda the way I felt when I saved you, Miss Devil. I'm sorry if I made you mad, but…I just didn't want you getting hurt."

"This…Nanoha…" the White Devil said slowly. "She's your friend?"

"My best friend," Alisa said firmly. "Even if I don't act like it a lot, I admire Nanoha and respect her. She's so nice, and fun, and cool that I can't help but be close to her. But…we kinda got in a fight recently over something very stupid."

"I'm sure Nanoha's forgiven you already," Suzuka assured her. "I'll bet by tomorrow she'll be the same Nanoha as she's always been.

"I hope so," said Alisa. "I don't even care if she's keep secrets from us anymore. If she is, I'm sure she has a good reason to. And whenever she feels like telling us – if she ever feels like telling us – we'll be right there for her. Because…she's our irreplaceable friend."

The White Devil smiled softly underneath her mask. Alisa and Suzuka…even after everything Nanoha had done – abandoning them, breaking her promises, arguing, and lying to them in general – they still thought of her as their best friend. It was difficult to find true friends like that in this modern day world; friends who wouldn't hesitate to turn on each other at the drop of a yen the moment things turned bad, as Batman once told her. But there was a difference between her and Batman: she was willing to see the good in people, and not just the bad. She was willing to let people in.

"You were right about one thing, Alisa-chan," said the White Devil. "Best friends don't keep secrets from each other. So…here it is…"

Alisa and Suzuka stared at their hero with puzzled expressions. The White Devil grabbed the edge of her hood and the cloth of her mouth and paused as if she was having second thoughts. But her mind was made up, and she pulled them down. Alisa and Suzuka gasped in an almost overly dramatic way as Nanoha Takamachi smiled shyly.

"Well…now you know. This - " said Nanoha, gesturing to her costume " – is the real reason I haven't been honest with you two. I'm the White Devil."

"Nanoha," Suzuka breathed, "you…"

"No way!" Alisa screamed shrilly, making Nanoha's ears throb. "You mean…after all the…and you were…and we were…and the then…YOU'RE THE WHITE DEVIL?!"

"A little louder, would ya?" Nanoha said sarcastically. "I don't think they heard you in Smallville."

"But – you – " Alisa sputtered. "Are you telling us for the past year that you've been secretly fighting bad guys behind our backs?"

"Kinda, yeah," said Nanoha. "But you have to understand my reasoning for that. If anyone ever found out that you knew my identity, they would hurt you until they got what they wanted. I couldn't take that risk."

"So all those times when you said you needed to take care of Yuuno-Kun?" said Suzuka.

"Yuuno-kun was the one who gave me my powers," said Nanoha. "Turns out he's some space archeologist or something like that. You'll have to ask him later."

"And those excuses about running errands for your parents?" said Alisa.

"Needed to get away so I could change into my costume," said Nanoha.

"And all those excuses about the injuries?" asked Suzuka.

"Those were real," said Nanoha, shaking her head. "Superheroing doesn't exactly cover health insurance. Shamal is constantly chewing me out about not being careful."

"But after all this time, why tell us now?" asked Suzuka.

"Before, I thought I could tell you because I was afraid you would get hurt," said Nanoha. "And I'm still afraid that might happen. But after what happened tonight, I realized I've been treating you like a couple of helpless little kids. You're not a couple of helpless kids. If anything, you've shown that you guys have what it takes to be real heroes."

"So that means we can be your sidekicks?" Alisa asked starry-eyed.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," said Nanoha. "It means that I can trust you guys with my secret. Remember to keep it to yourselves – none of your friends or family can know about it. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the most popular girl in Uminari City."

"You can count on us, Nanoha!" Alisa said with a thumbs-up.

"Thanks, guys," Nanoha said appreciatively, pulling up her hoods and mask. "Now, who wants a ride back home courtesy of Devil Air."

"ME!" Alisa and Suzuka shouted together with their hands raised.

The White Devil laughed. She stepped up to edge of the building, holding Alisa's hand on her left side, and holding Suzuka's hand on her right. Smiling together, the three leapt over the edge and flew off into the –

"**Linker Core connection lost!**" said Raising Heart. "**All spells are currently offline.**"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" the White Devil screeched.

Together they fell over the building, landing in a dumpster filled to the brim with trash.

"Maybe we should take the bus," said Suzuka weakly.

"Good idea," Alisa and the White Devil said together.

* * *

**Yukari Tamura: **The black cloak of death looms over Uminari City. The Grim Reaper, the deadliest assassin in the known galaxy, finally sets her sights on the White Devil. With all her courage and strength, the White Devil has never faced such a terrifying enemy, and the legend of the White Devil may soon come to an end. Next time on the White Devil:

**Death is a Little Girl(nano)?**

**Nanoha, Alisa, &amp; Suzuka: **Magical! Lyrical! We'll do our best!

* * *

**HELP WANTED**

**Description: **With more of my chapters becoming precariously long, and the number of anons leaving nasty notes at my errors, I am now offering a position for a Beta and consultant for the White Devil as well as future stories such as Nexus and Saint Hilde Academy. As expected, those chosen will look over my work and point out any errors I may have made, whether in spelling or grammar. If possible, I would wish for a consultant that would provide suggestions to improve upon chapters. Will not accept Yes-Men or Over-Realists.

**Prerequisites: **Must have standard knowledge of multiple media franchises (preferable to _Black Rock Shooter, To Aru, The World Ends With You, _and _Mikagura School Suite_)

Those interested please contact me via PM.


	8. Death is a Little Girl (nano)?

**The White Devil**

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha © Masaki Tsuzuki  
All Characters © Respective Owners.

* * *

**Lyrical Record 7: Death is a Little Girl (nano)?**

It was another long and busy night in Uminari City: another underground deal was going on in an abandoned warehouse in the upper east side of town (abandoned warehouses seemed to be becoming a recurring scene for criminal activity; it was amazing that they police had not picked up on it yet). The Leviathan's right-hand man, Marco Lawson, adjusted his tie and dusted off his suit, wanting to look presentable for his guests. Flanking him on either side where two Enforcers that he had hand selected, though they were nowhere close to Gregory Gordon's level; both carrying heavy briefcases cuffed to their arms.

Lawson checked his watch just as an inconspicuous (or very conspicuous depending on how you saw it) black van pulled up from the street with its headlights flaring over Lawson's group. The driver's, passengers, and the back doors flew open and six men marched almost robotically around the van toward the front. The six men were exactly identical from their thin rigid face, their short black hair, and even the same choice of attire: black, three-buttoned pinstripe suits with polished shoes and navy striped ties.

"You're late," said Lawson as the sextuplets lined up in a row. "I was starting to think you weren't going to show."

"Kraang lacked the knowledge to the direction that is the direction to the place that is this place," the first man said robotically. "Kraang wished to inquire about the knowledge for the direction that is the direction to the place that is this place, but Kraang did not want to inquire the ones called the locals for the knowledge of the direction that is the direction to the place that is this place."

"Kraang did not need the knowledge for the direction that it the direction to the place that is this place," said the second Kraang. "Kraang was being that what is known as the backseat driver."

"Kraang was not what is known as the backseat driver," the first Kraang argued. "Kraang had the knowledge that Kraang did not have the direction that was the direction – "

"Will you please shut up?" Lawson snapped. "God, this is why I hate dealing with Kraang; they always give me such a headache. Let's just cut straight to the point. Do you have what we agreed to?"

The first Kraang nodded and turned his head to a third Kraang, who took a step forward with a large briefcase in his arms. The Kraang undid the latches and slowly opened the case, tilting it forward to give Lawson a peek. Inside were what appeared to be tiny, green computer chips. Lawson took one, searching it over to inspect its authenticity.

"Kraang is willing to provide the one called The Leviathan," said the first Kraang, "with one millions in Mid-Childan credits that the one called the Leviathan desires that is being provided by Kraang that. But for Kraang to provide the one called The Leviathan with what he desires that Kraang is willing to provide, Kraang must know that the one called The Leviathan is willing to provide with what Kraang desires that is being provided by the one called The Leviathan."

"The Leviathan always keeps his promises," said Lawson, snapping his fingers.

The two Leviathan Enforcers stepped forward, holding up the briefcases they were carrying, undoing the latches, and opening them for the Kraang to see. Inside each case was a complex machine that looked like a miniaturized engine with dozens of neon-blue wires running through the body.

"Mark-X-67 Delta-ROM Transdimensional generators," said Lawson. "The same kind used by the TSAB Dimensional Navy for interdimensional travel. If you use these, I can guarantee you the smoothest transitions between realities."

"Kraang is pleased with the one called The Leviathan," said the first Kraang. "Kraang is satisfied. Kraang is ready to make the transaction that is to take place at this place."

"Good to hear," said Lawson. "Now about the other deal – "

"Hope you guys don't mind me dropping in!"

Lawson and the Kraang stared up at the ceiling as a blur of white dropped down and landed on top of the Kraang on the far right, crushing it underfoot. Lawson was not the least bit surprised that the White Devil had showed up; on the contrary, looking at his watch, he though her to be two minutes late.

The White Devil's hand was in a vie-like grip on the Kraangs head and she pulled sharply, ripping the Kraang's head from his shoulders. Rather than guts and blood, the Kraang's body sparked and a mess of wires and sheet metal fell out. The Kraang's chest flew open like a door and a disgusting brain-like creature screeched at the White Devil before slithering away. The White Devil threw the robotic head away and took a stance as the remaining Kraang each pulled out a laser of sorts with pink light particles already forming at the barrel.

Lawson and his Enforcers took this opportunity to escape unnoticed, but not before taking their payment.

"You guys are a bunch of brain aliens, so I know you're smart," said the White Devil. "Now would be a perfect moment to surrender."

"The surrendering of Kraang is not the thing that the one known as The White Devil will be doing to Kraang," said the Kraang.

"Wrong, the surrendering of Kraang is exactly the thing that the one who is…er…," said the White Devil, trailing off with a confused look. "Just surrender, all right? I don't know what to save anymore: the world or the Japanese Language."

"Attack the one that needs to be attacked. Attack!" shouted the Kraang.

"**Round Shield!**" said the White Devil.

The Kraang fired their laser blasters at the same moment a circular barrier of magical energy formed between them and the White Devil. The lasers deflected off the shield and several of the shots ricocheted across the warehouse, smashing a wooden box, piercing an empty steel drum, and one random shot bounced off a nearby window and knocked one of the Kraang's head off. The Kraang became temporarily distracted by their comrade's sudden decapitation and the White Devil dropped the barrier before flipping backward on top of a pile of crates. Now that she was looking down on them from a higher vantage, the White Devil waved Raising Heart into a circle and crafted four energy bullets in the air. By the time the Kraang looked back and realized what was happening, the White Devil had already thrown her Divine Shots at them, knocking the Kraang on their backs but not disabling them.

One of the Kraang was starting to get up, but the White Devil jumped down and landed on top of him. The White Devil lifted Raising Heart over her head (she was in Shooting Mode) and stabbed the pointed tip through the Kraang's chest. Sparks flew through the wound and the Kraang's head and arms became spastic.

"Kra-a-ang was only three – three weeks from re-re-tirement-t-t!"

The android went limp and the White Devil stepped to the side as the Kraang popped out of the machine's chest and hissed at the White Devil before scuttling away as well. The White Devil heard charging energy and looked over at the Kraangs who had gotten back up with their weapons ready. The Kraang's shot at the White Devil, but she quickly dived out of the way and landed in a kneeling position. She held up Raising Heart and –

"Pause image."

The White Devil frozen in place as pink energy started to form at Raising Heart's tip. The Kraang were also frozen; their laser shots stopped in midair.

"Rewind ten seconds and play again."

Suddenly, the White Devil and the Kraang started flying backwards into their original positions: the Kraang were forming up with their lasers aimed at the White Devil, while the young superhero was watching the defeated Kraang scuttled away. Then everything resumed as it had before; the Kraang fired on the White Devil and the White Devil rolled out of the way and moved in a position to fight back when –

"Pause image again." The Fight stopped once more. "Hmm…strange…"

The scene pulled back and revealed that to those who were observing that they were not in a warehouse on the upper east side of Uminari City, but in a dark undisclosed room observing an image of the fight on a projector screen. The image was being displayed through the eyes of a disabled Kraangdroid head on the side table, although the golden triangle that had been plastered on its forehead seemed to bring it to life once more. Sitting comfortably in the chair next to the mechanical head, the Grim Reaper hummed thoughtfully.

She did not appear as frightening as her name would imply; she appeared to be the same age as the White Devil if only an inch or two taller and her skin was very smooth, though pale as if she had not received enough sunlight. Like her target, the Grim Reaper was equipped with a (rather revealing) Barrier jacket that mostly resembled a black swimsuit and matching leggings that would drive all the otakus wild, though it was accented by a lovely pink skirt. A billowing black cape draped her shoulders and a hood was drawn over her head, half concealing her face. Only one burgundy eye was visible in the shadow of her hood and it stared intently at the screen.

The Grim Reaper leaned forward with a hand on her chin, humming under her breath.

"Bardiche, do a full spectrum analysis at point 37-6B and 39-2A," said the Grim Reaper.

"**Yes, sir,**" said Bardiche.

The projection split off into two images: the one on the left showed the White Devil standing on the stack of crates in the middle of summoning her Divine Shots, and the one of the right showed the White Devil in the process of stabbing the Kraang with Raising Heart. A moment later, the White Devil's appearance was replaced by a massive human-shaped blob of color. The image on the left was a mixture of red and yellow with pink veins stretching throughout the body; the one on the left was just red and yellow.

"Just as I thought," said the Grim Reaper. "Her magic is unstable; her Linker Core is constantly fading in and out. Bardiche, bring up the images of Event 3718-C, Event 4994-A, Event 6714-A, and Event 7710-B. Full spectrum analysis on all of them."

"**Yes, sir,**" said Bardiche.

The projection of the Kraang fight was with four images boxed together on top of each other. The image on the top left was the White Devil chasing Tailwind down the alley where he would be ambushed, then the image on the top right showed the White Devil and Signum charging at Seismic from either side. The image on the bottom left was the White Devil ducking underneath an electric bolt from Blitzkrieg, and the image on the bottom right was the White Devil running from Scorch in the hospital parking lot. And every one of the images, the White Devil was replaced by a blob of color: the top pictures had pink veins while the bottom two did not.

"Against those…'supervillains' called Tailwind and Seismic, the White Devil showed perfect magical control," said the Grim Reaper. "But against Blitzkrieg and that Scorch woman, her ability seems unstable. Hmm…I notice that the White Devil's Barrier Jacket looks damaged after the fight against Blitzkrieg. Would that be an indicator to her fluctuating power, Bardiche?"

"**It is a possibility, sir,**" said Bardiche. "**While not the main output for Mana distribution, a damaged Barrier Jacket could cause frequent interference with the Intelligent Device.**"

"So she's in a vulnerable state for now," said the Grim Reaper. "Bardiche, have you mapped out all the White Devil sighting and triangulated the areas she most frequents."

"**Yes, sir,**" said Bardiche, changing the Kraangdroid's projection into a map sketched with hundreds of red dots. "**The White Devil has been seen in multiple areas around the city, but two areas she is seen most regularly is a community district in the south-eastern side of Uminari City, centered around a small café called Midori-ya. Another location is in the upper Diamond District, centered on an apartment complex called the Sea Shore Towers.**"

"Then we have our targets," said the Grim Reaper, standing up. "Bardiche, send a message to Mizuiro Kaiju. Tell him we'll have the White Devil in his office by sundown."

* * *

The apartment is much livelier than usual, Lindy thought to herself as she prepared fours glasses of lemonade and a water bowl. There was a lot of chatter coming from the other room and the TSAB admiral could not stop smiling. She picked up the tray and walked out into the living room, spying Nanoha on the couch with her friends, Alisa Bannings and Suzuka Tsukimura, whom Nanoha had invited over for the evening – with Lindy's permission of course. Nanoha said something that made the other two laugh to which Lindy's chuckled herself, though Yuuno, who was sitting on the coffee table, looked more the a little irritated as he was trying to work.

"And then when I grabbed their gun and started shooting them, they were all like," Nanoha said, shifting her voice to sound more mechanical. "The one known as The White Devil has that thing which does violence at Kraang which used to do violence for Kraang."

"Seriously, they actually talk like that?" Alisa said between breaths, laughing so hard.

"I couldn't even make that up – thank, Lindy-san," Nanoha said as Lindy set the drinks of the table.

"We appreciate you inviting us into your home, Ms. Harlaown," Suzuka said politely.

"Please, call me Lindy," said Lindy. "And it's no trouble at all. Now that you know about Nanoha's double life, it was only natural to invite you. And besides, it's so nice having a house full of children again, though my son was never as fun to be around as you three – don't tell him I said that."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot you had a son," said Nanoha.

"Yep, his name is Chrono Harlaown," said Lindy, smiling wistfully. "He should be fifteen years old by now. That's pretty young considering he's an executive officer of the TSAB's Enforcer Division."

"Those are like the elite of the TSAB, aren't they?" said Nanoha, sounding surprised.

"I was pretty amazed myself when he told me he passed the commission exam last year," said Lindy, taking a sip. "Chrono has a weak natural aptitude for magic, but his intelligence and control more than make up for it – I swear he gets it from his father; God rest his soul. I've always been very proud of Chrono, but sometimes I wish he wouldn't be so serious. He's never going to get a girlfriend that way. I feel so bad for Amy."

"At least he's got his career…I guess," said Nanoha awkwardly. "He got a position in the TSAB's Riot Force 4 Division, didn't he?"

"Didn't I tell you, he got promoted to Riot Force 3 last month," said Lindy.

"Good for him," said Nanoha.

"Uh…not to expose my ignorance," Alisa interrupted, her brow disappearing into her hairline, "but we have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sorry about that," said Lindy, chuckling awkwardly. "We forget that you're still new to the magical world, so it makes sense that you would be confused. So…" she crossed one leg over the other with her hands folded over her lap, looking perfectly poised as if it were second nature. "What do you girls want to learn first?"

"Ooh, ooh, ooh, me, me, me!" Suzuka shouted excitedly, waving her hand furiously in the air. "How did you and Nanoha learn magic? Do you fly on brooms and make potions in cauldrons? And how you cast spells? Is there some secret enchantment or an incantation - ?"

"Slow down there, Tsukimura, one question at a time," said Lindy, waving her off. "To start off, Nanoha and I didn't exactly 'learn' magic, we were born with it – more specifically, we were born with extra organs called Linker Cores, which gather magical particles called Eternano from the atmosphere. That whole broom and cauldron junk is a bunch of trash made up by old colonial explorers and Harry Potter nerds. And as for the magic itself, it's a lot more complicated that just spouting a bunch of gibberish words – real Mages don't even say that nonsense."

"Then how does real magic work?" asked Suzuka.

"That's an excellent question, Tsukimura," said Lindy proudly. "Pay close attention, because I doubt I'll be able to tell it a second time. The secret of magic is – "

* * *

Down on street level below Lindy's apartment, the usual daily commuters were flooding the sidewalks; many of them did a double take or stopped and stared. And who wouldn't? It's not every day you see a little girl walking down the street dressed in a black swimsuit and cape in thirty-two Celsius weather. The Grim Reaper paid them no mind; she had other priorities than a bunch strangers gawking at her…though she admittedly did feel a little awkward when they started taking pictures with their camera phones.

"That's so adorable. Is she cosplaying?"

"Is there an event in town? Think she'd take a picture with me?"

"Mommy, can I have a costume like that?"

The Grim Reaper's face felt painfully hot. These people were supposed to think she was scary, not adorable.

She stopped at the front entrance of the Sea Shore Towers. She had already went to check the Midori-ya café earlier that evening, but there had been no telltale sign that the White Devil had been there – although, the owners were very nice to offer her a strawberry cheese cake to go.

The Grim Reaper tilted her head back towards the roof, performing a quick inspection of the building. There had to be well over two hundred windows and just as many rooms on one side of the apartment complex, which means there was twice as many if she counted the other side of the tower. She was fast, but she wasn't fast enough to search every room before the time she had established for herself; and her main selling point was keeping a schedule.

"Bardiche, are you able to locate any Mana signatures in the building?" asked the Grim Reaper, speaking to the golden triangle on the back of her hand.

"**Searching…**" said Bardiche. He went silent for a few second, then beeped. "**Three Mana signatures detected – one signature appears to be inconsistent, unstable. The pattern matches that of the White Devil. Warning: Individual signature analysis detects high-level Mana output – a possible S-Rank Mage may be within the vicinity. **"

"So she's allied herself with other Mages, and with an S-Rank as my luck would have it," said the Grim Reaper. "This may prove to be a more difficult than originally expected. Have you located which floor the White Devil is on?"

"**Yes, sir,**" said Bardiche. "**All three signatures are located on the twenty-sixth floor, fourth window from the right.**"

"We'll have to catch them off-guard," said the Grim Reaper. "Let's go, Bardiche."

"**Yes, sir!**"

* * *

"And that is the secret of magic," Lindy finished.

"Oooh," Nanoha, Alisa, and Suzuka cooed together, very impressed and clapping in admiration.

"That was such an amazing story," said Suzuka. "My favorite part was the story about the Saint King Olivie and the Hegemon Claus – they were like Romeo and Juliet.

"Figures you'd go for the romantic stuff," said Alisa teasingly. "But who know that the key to achieve transdimensional travel was as simple as a six digit equation."

"And this the first time I ever heard about the True Witches," said Nanoha. "If this were a comic book or fanfiction, this would be called foreshadowing."

"I'm glad you all liked it," said Lindy with a smile, sipping her lemonade. "IS there anything else you girls want to know?"

"Actually, there is something else…" said Suzuka softly. "What is the meaning of life?"

"Oh, that's an easy one," Lindy said, laughing and waving. "The meaning of life is…"

Just then, the screens that Yuuno had been messing with turned violent-red, blaring loudly and repeatedly flashes signs of "Danger". The little ferret jumped and flailed his paws everywhere, trying to calm his personal computer down.

"Oh, this is bad, this is very bad," said Yuuno fretfully.

"What's wrong? What's happening?" Lindy demanded, shifting to 'Admiral Mode' as Nanoha called it.

"There's a sudden spike in Eternano nearby," Yuuno answered. "It appeared so abruptly that my computers didn't have time to process it properly. Just give me a second…and…" – he tapped a button and the noise stopped – "There, that's better. Now let me see if I can get a reading on it. Hmm…it looks like…uh oh…"

"Did you just say 'uh-oh'?" asked Nanoha. "I hate it when you say 'uh-oh'. It usually ends with me falling in a dumpster or smashing Lindy's car again."

"I'm afraid this is much worse than that," said Yuuno. "That spike in Eternano, it was actually a Mana output – there's a mage very close. If I am reading these numbers right – and it's very rare that I am ever wrong about this – I estimate that the Mage must be at least an AAA-Rank."

"That's one rank higher than me!" said Nanoha, gapping.

"Where's the signature coming from, Scrya?" Lindy asked seriously.

"Hmm…according to this, the Mana output is coming from…right outside your window?" said Yuuno.

Yuuno exchanged looks with Lindy, Nanoha, Alisa, and Suzuka; all of them looking at the ferret as if he had grown a second head. Rolling his eyes, Yuuno hopped off the coffee table and scurried over to the balcony window. He pulled back the curtains slightly to peer through the glass. His eyes became as large as dinner plates as the Grim Reaper appeared on the other side, cape billowing in the wind, and Bardiche – taking the form of the weapon it is named after – in hand.

The Grim Reaper raised Bardiche in Yuuno's direction and four spheres of yellow energy formed around the head. As opposed to the White Devil's simplistic Divine Bullets, the Grim Reapers cracked with purple sparks flying across the surface; a lightning affinity, Yuuno thought.

Realizing that he had been staring too long, Yuuno scurried back into the living room, shouting:

"GET DOWN!"

"**Photon Lancer!**" said Bardiche.

The electric bullets smashed through the apartment window and a great explosion erupted from it; the Grim Reaper used her cape to divert the flying glass and debris. The noise from the eruption made everyone on the street stare upwards, spotting the clouds of ominous black smoke pluming from the side of the building. Ignoring the gaping civilians below, the Grim Reaper slowly levitated into the apartment through the broken window. Glass crunched beneath her metal boots; the Grim Reaper brought her cape up to her mouth and nose so as to not inhale the smoke.

Her eyes scanned what used to be a living room, but it was very difficult with all of the haze clouding her vision. The walls, ceiling, and wood paneled floors were charred black and covered in soot; the Grim Reaper started to think she might have gone overboard. Pieces of wooden chairs and half a couch had been thrown to one side; the remains of a very expensive-looking television sparked at her feet. The Grim Reaper took a step forward and something crunched underneath. She looked down; it appeared to be a framed photograph. Kneeling down to pick it up, the Grim Reaper looked at the photograph, staring at the image of a teal-haired woman standing next to her dark-haired son, both smiling simply back at her. The Grim Reaper grimaced.

"Oh no," said the Grim Reaper. "Please tell me I didn't make a mistake."

"Oh, you made a mistake, all right!"

The Grim Reaper barely looked over before a burst of pink light filled her vision and smacked her across the face. The cloaked assailant was sent flying through the window again and smashed into the building across the street. Suddenly, the smoke was pushed aside and the White Devil stood at the forefront of her friends, all of them huddle together around Yuuno, protected by a hemisphere barrier of green energy. Letting out a sigh of relief, Yuuno lowered his furry paws and the barrier dissipated a moment later.

"That was a close one," said Yuuno. "That goodness I managed to cast the Circle Protection spell fast than she could attack. A moment later and we might not be standing here."

"What was that just now?" asked Suzuka, looking scared. "Nanoha, who'd you manage to tick off this time?"

"I haven't done anything today," said the White Devil. "No, wait, maybe it was…. No, I haven't done anything today."

"Yuuno, did you get a good look at who the attacker was?" Lindy asked seriously.

"I did, but I sincerely wish I hadn't," Yuuno said grimly. It's the first time I've ever seen her in person, but I've heard enough stories to recognize her. A young mage whose skill and power exceed common sense and possesses an affinity for lightning-based Mana Conversion. She is a gifted assassin cloaked in black –

"Not to rush you or anything, but we are kinda under attack from a magic assassin!" Alisa said impatiently. "Do you think you could skip the dramatics and get straight to the point?"

"Her real name is unknown, but everyone calls her the Grim Reaper," Yuuno said shortly. "She is on the TSAB's Top 10 Most Wanted List. She's extremely dangerous."

"Well, I don't care if she's the Boogey Man or Santa Claus – " said the White Devil.

"I still don't get why you hate Santa Claus," said Alisa.

"A guy that spies on you all year and then sneaks into your house?" the White Devil argued. "How can you not – no, I'm getting distracted. That girl – Grim Reaper – just blew up Lindy-san's house. Someone needs to teach her a lesson, and by someone, I mean me."

The White Devil took a step onto the balcony and crouched to jump, but was suddenly pulled back by her wrist. The White Devil looked back; Lindy stared her down with an authoritative look that the Admiral rarely displayed around her.

"You're not going to fight her," said Lindy.

"Why not?" said the White Devil. "She just blew up your house – "

"Those are just things, this is your life we're talking about now," said Lindy, pulling the hero back inside. "Yuuno wasn't being dramatic when he said that the Grim Reaper is one of the most dangerous criminals in the universe. She has a record, Nanoha, a big one. She's only been around for a year, but she has already killed eighty-two high-profile figures, including three TSAB admirals, and all of them had the best security possible. You're just a ten year old girl. If you go out there now, she will kill you."

"I've beaten bad guys like her before," said the White Devil.

"The Grim Reaper is not just another 'bad guy'," Lindy warned. "She has enough skill and training to kill the strongest and brightest men in the TSAB. And even if that weren't true, you still have a damaged Barrier Jackets that cuts out your magic at random. Do you really think you stand a chance against her? The best thing you can do now is to lay low until we know what she wants."

The White Devil frowned underneath her mask. She wasn't accustomed to having Lindy doubt her capabilities, especially considering she had fought villains like Scorch without her powers. But the White Devil was not about to let arrogance get the best of her; the last time she had becoming overconfident in herself, she ended up with her Barrier Jacket the way it is now. And looking at Lindy's stern expression, the White Devil had finally noticed that this was the first time that she had ever seen the admiral so serious as opposed to her usually calm and serene self.

The White Devil was considering taking Lindy's advice and duck out when the building across the street burst open and the Grim Reaper floated above the street, her mouth formed into a visible grimace. As she hovered for a moment, the Grim Reaper felt something sticking to her hood, reached up, and ripped it off. When she realized it was a pair of men's boxer short, she let out a girlish scream and flailed it away.

"Lindy-san, I know you are just trying to protect me," said Nanoha. "And you're probably right - I might not stand a chance against someone as experienced as her. But this is my home and if she wants to cause trouble, she'll have to deal with the White Devil."

"Nanoha, wait!" Lindy shouted.

But it was too late – the White Devil had already dived off the balcony.

The Grim Reaper was distracted in her overwhelming disgust that she had not noticed the White Devil flying at her until she had tackled her from behind. The white-clothed hero slithered her arms around the Grim Reaper's and locked her finger's behind the assassin's head, trapping her in a Full Nelson – a trick she had learned from watching her brother and sister fight before they started using swords. The Grim Reaper flailed her arms and swirled her head, but the Devil was not letting go.

The White Devil pushed against the Grim Reaper's back and they both went flying into the building across; the Grim Reaper slammed face first into the concrete wall, giving her a bloody nose. She then pulled back and both girls began a spiral descent towards street level, ending when they slammed into the hood of a semi-truck, crushing the metal under their combined weight, smoking wafting from the grill. The Grim Reaper growled under her breath, having landed on the bottom while the White Devil was still clinging to her backside, keeping her arms locked on either side. She had made a mistake; she had not calculated for the White Devil's physical strength.

"Now that I got your attention, Miss Reaper," the White Devil murmured into her ear; the Grim Reaper felt a shiver run down her spine. "What do you want?"

"If you know who I am, then it should be obvious," said the Grim Reaper. "There's a price on your head that I'm aiming to collect."

"Let me guess? The Leviathan?" said the White Devil.

"I'm not inclined to divulge information about my client's," said the Grim Reaper. "It's called professional courtesy."

"It's not really a secret – who else could pay for an intergalactic assassin to kill me?" said the White Devil. She tightened her grip on the black-clothed Mage, forcing out a grunt of discomfort. "But it looks like he wasted a lot of money because you're not putting up as much of a fight as I thought you would for someone of your reputation."

"It's true, I did not take into consideration that you would resort to physical fighting," said the Grim Reaper. "Your type of magic led me to believe that you were a mid-to-long range type. I won't make the same mistake, I promise."

"You act like you're going to get out of this," said the White Devil, tightening her grip again.

"Oh, I am," said the Grim Reaper. "In three…two…one…"

"**Linker Core connection lost**!" said Raising Heart. "**All spells are currently offline.**"

"What?!" Nanoha yelped.

"Gotcha," said the Grim Reaper, smirking.

Now that the White Devil was suddenly losing strength, the Grim Reaper ripped her arms out of the hero's hold and spun around, kicking the White Devil in the stomach as hard as she could. The white-clothed Mage went flying down the street and slammed into a lamppost, making it bend and fell onto the civilians that were fleeing the scene. The White Devil dropped to her knees and then fell forward, a throbbing pain running and down her spine. She was about to get up when the Grim Reaper suddenly appeared on top of her, stamping her foot on the hand holding onto Raising Heart. The White Devil moaned, but did not cry.

"How did you know that was going to happen?" the White Devil asked, grimacing.

"I've been watching you for some time now," said the Grim Reaper. "Observing you, examining you, learning all of your skills and weaknesses. I've spent so much time analyzing your tactics and abilities that I almost know everything about you."

"Yeah, that's not creepy," the White Devil said sarcastically.

"You use humor as a way to shield yourself," aid the Grim Reaper, grabbing her weapon with both hand and bringing it over her shoulder. "But it's not going to work this time. Bardiche!"

"**Scythe Form!**" Bardiche shouted.

The axe head of her Intelligence Device rose sideways and a curved blade of golden energy took shape from the opening, giving her weapon the appearance of a scythe.

High above the scene from her apartment balcony, Lindy slammed her hand on the railing and gnashed her teeth in frustration.

"Of all the – Yuuno!" Lindy called.

"Already on it," Yuuno said seriously, throwing out his paws as a shroud of green energy surrounded his tiny body.

"Wait, what's going – ?" Alisa began to asked, but was cut short when Yuuno clapped his paws together.

A ball of green-and-gray energy pushed outwards from his little body and expanded over the apartment. Lindy was unaffected as the barrier passed over her and continued to watch the fight below undisturbed, but Alisa and Suzuka vanished the moment they were touched as if someone had wiped them out of existence. The barrier soon escaped the apartment and expanded over the building before reaching street level; everyone it came in contact with was swept away to parts unknown. The Barrier soon passed over the Grim Reaper and the White Devil, both of whom remained while the civilians disappeared. The Grim Reaper stopped for a moment, looking around curiously before staring up at the sky. The barrier of distorted time-space was erected very high; she assumed it was covering the entire district.

"A Temporal Force Field," said the Grim Reaper, sounding impressed. "And a very large one at that; I can barely make one that stretches twenty feet."

Looking back at the White Devil, she kicks the would-be heroine on her back and presses her foot down on her chest, earning a soft groan.

"Whoever raised the field was trying to separate us from the non-mages," said the Grim Reaper, holding her scythe close to the White Devil's neck. "But that just makes my job a whole lot easier."

The Grim Reaper pulled back her scythe ready to swing when –

"**Linker Core connection reestablished – Mana storages recharging – all available spells unlocked**."

"**Impact Cannon!**" Nanoha shouted quickly.

Quick as a flash, the White Devil threw up her hand and a transparent ball of energy formed in her palm. The Grim Reaper barely gasped before she was struck in the face and sent flying backward, smashing into the side of a building and ripping through the awning below, hitting the ground with a loud flopping sound. She pushed up to her hands and knees, shaking her head to clear the disorientation, and looked back at the White Devil, who was now standing and had conjured several pink bullets.

"**Divine Shooter!**" said the White Devil.

Sweeping Raising Heart around, the White Devil sent the energy bullets into a spiral at the Grim Reaper. The Divine Shots were converging on the dark-clothed assassin when -

"**Blitz Action!**" said Bardiche.

At the very last second, the Grim Reaper vanished from her spot and the Divine Shots exploded on the ground where she was last seen. The White Devil gapped beneath her mask, quickly looking over her shoulder as that is what the villains usually did when they pulled off a vanishing trick. But instead, the Grim Reaper appeared directly in front of the White Devil, making her take a couple steps back in shock. The assassin raised her to the White Devil's face and three golden magic circles form around her wrist; a ball of golden energy took shape in her palms. Knowing she wouldn't be able to escape at this range, the White Devil crossed her arms over her face as her opponent shouted:

"**Plasma Smasher!**"

The orb exploded into an enormous column of golden light shooting down the street, ripping up the pavement from the street and shattering every window in its wake. The bombardment finished at the end of the street where it crashed into the side of an office building and exploded in a blaze of golden light. The Grim Reaper stared at the display until the light died down, then turned her head to the side of the street where the White Devil lay on her side, her eyes wincing beneath her mask.

Holding her side, the White Devil stood up, using Raising Heart as a crutch. She wasn't sure how she managed to do it, but she had crafted a quick Round Shield that barely deflected the bombardment spell away, though the aftershock still managed to cause her some serious damage.

"**Warning: Automated Defense System disabled,**" said Raising Heart. "**Warning: Barrier Jacket stability at 18%. Warning: Connection to Linker Core temporarily disabled – attempting to reboot. Warning – **"

"Yeah, I get it, I'm really messed up," said the White Devil. "Any good news for a change?"

"**...Do you want me to lie**?" asked Raising Heart.

The White Devil hanged her head shamefully.

"You put up a short, but decent fight," said the Grim Reaper, swiping her scythe menacingly at her side as she stepped closer. "You've last a lot long than any of my other targets – you certainly hit harder – " he rubbed her jaw as she said that – "but now is the part where I end you and collect my money."

"You know, I learned a valuable lesson about arrogance recently," said the White Devil. "When you underestimate someone, you really learn to regret it."

"I'm not underestimating you; I already admitted that you were a worthwhile target," said the Grim Reaper. "But with your magic temporarily disabled, you stand little chance."

"If you feel so confident, come at me," the White Devil challenged.

Her visible eye narrowed suspiciously under her hood, but not possibly seeing any threat in the White Devil's words, she raised her scythe and charged at the heroine. The White Devil took a strong stance, waiting and waiting as her assassin came closer. Just as they were within feet of each other, the Grim Reaper slashed Bardiche across the White Devil's neckline. The black-clothed assassin gasped as her opponent blocked Bardiche using the rod of her own Intelligence Device and pushed her away. As the Grim Reaper was thrown off balance, the White Devil lunged forward, grabbed the assassin by the wrist, ducked around behind her, and then pushed down on her elbow, trapping her in an armlock.

"Did your information forget to tell you I have years of training in Kenjutsu and Judo?" said the White Devil.

"Actually…" the Grim reaper grunted, "yes… it did…"

Before the Grim Reaper could attempt an escape, the White Devil flipped the assassin around and threw her over her shoulder, causing her to landing on her stomach. Growling angrily, the Grim Reaper jumped back up to her feet and slashed Bardiche across the air, which the White Devil deflected again. Taking a step back, the Grim Reaper threw up her hand and attempted for another bombardment spell, but the White Devil quickly closed the gap between them and jabbed Raising Heart's rod into her stomach. While the dark-clothed mage was hunched over, the White Devil performed a swift palm strike to the chin that lifted her off the ground before the Devil slammed back down.

The Grim Reaper rolled on the street holding her stomach, moaning. This was not what she had expected; she had been promised that she was dealing with a novice.

The White Devil walked around the assassin on the ground, leering down on her from above.

"I'm gonna give you this one chance to surrender," said the White Devil. "I suggest you take it."

"Never…" the Grim Reaper hissed.

The Grim Reaper spun around on the ground and kicked the White Devil in the chest again, knocking her flat on her back. By the time the hero scrambled back to her feet, the Grim Reaper was already floating several feet off the ground, surrounded by half a dozen electrified bullets and conjuring more within seconds.

"You may have taken me by surprise, but I'm done playing around!" shouted the Grim Reaper.

"**Linker Core connection reestablished – Mana storages recharging – all available spells unlocked**," said Raising Heart.

"It's too late for that!" said the Grim Reaper. "**Photon Lancer!**"

The assassin wastes no time in bombarding the White Devil in a hailstorm of electric bullets, making sure to never let up and allow her an opportunity to defend or run. Each satisfying explosion rang in the Grim Reaper's ears as piece of pavement were sent flying everywhere. After a few seconds of nonstop shooting, the Grim Reaper raised Bardiche and called off the assault.

A period of unnerving silence fell on the battlefield as the Grim Reaper stared at the plume of smoke that rose from the area. Her visible eye peered into the white clouds until she heard a sound that caused her to unconsciously release a gasp.

"**Flash Move!**"

The Grim Reaper could hear the rapid movement going on behind her and tilted her head to stare over her shoulder. The White Devil floated directly behind her, untouched by the Grim Reaper's assault, a hand raised to the assassin's back. An orb of pink energy formed in the White Devil's palm as well as three magic circles around her wrist; the Grim Reaper's jaw dropped.

_Is that…_

"**Strike Smasher!**" shouted the White Devil.

Though not nearly as powerful as the Grim Reaper's Plasma Smasher, the blast from the spell was enough to send the dark clothed assassin flying down the street; several holes burned into her cape and clothing, smoking seeping from her skin. The dark-clothed assassin hit the ground and bounced one…twice…three times before rolling into a stop, her cape tangle around her small body.

The White Devil panted as she slowly lowered herself to the ground, dropping to her knees the when she touched down. A second later, her Barrier Jacket shattered like glass and Nanoha found herself in her civilian attire. Her head was spinning, her lung felt like they were on fire, and her muscles throbbing so hard it hurt to touch the air.

"**Mana output from Strike Smasher has overloaded Barrier Jacket stability,**" said Raising Heart. "**Barrier Jacket stability: 0% Barrier Jacket permanently offline.**"

"Well…that's just great…," said Nanoha, wobbling in place. "Think I'll just…think I'll just…lay her for…"

Nanoha fell sideways, her vision becoming blurred. Off in the distance, she could see a black outline against the grey, which Nanoha assumed was the Grim Reaper. The last thing Nanoha remembered was seeing the black blob stand up and a woman screaming her name before everything went dark.

* * *

Her body felt light and cool, like she was drifting peacefully in the ocean. There were noises that could barely make out; voice that sounded like she was listening from underneath the water. Her eyes felt heavy, but she willed herself to open them; she needed to know where they voices were coming from. They a bright light filled herself her vision.

Nanoha winced as she stared up at a familiar ceiling, using the back of her hand to shield her eyes. It took a moment for Nanoha to collect herself, realizing that she was lying on the couch in Lindy's apartment with a heavy blanket thrown on top of her. It was strange considering that the Grim Reaper had blown up said apartment not too long ago. Groaning, she pushed the blanket down to her waist and sat up, rubbing the side of her head which felt strangely sore. Then, without warning, Nanoha felt several arms wrap around her body and a lot of screaming in her ear.

"Nanoha, you're okay!" said Alisa.

"Thank goodness, we thought you might have died!" said Suzuka.

"I will die if you don't stop suffocating me!" Nanoha grunted.

Alisa and Suzuka unlatched themselves from their friend, giving Nanoha a chance to look around the room. Just as she had suspected, they were still in lindy's apartment, which looked virtually untouched after today's encounter. The admiral herself was sitting in the loveseat across from Nanoha with Yuuno resting on her shoulder, sipping her favorite overly sweetened green tea; Nanoha shuddered. For a moment, Nanoha thought she had dreamed the entire fight with the Grim Reaper until a quick glance over to the balcony showed that nighttime had already fallen over the city.

"Ugh…what happened?" asked Nanoha. "How long was I out for?"

"Six hours," Lindy answered. "Yuuno did his best to patch you up, but healing is not his forte."

"Six hours?!" Nanoha yelped. "Oh no, my parents are – "

"Relax," Suzuka said soothingly. "We called your mom and dad and told them you were having a sleepover at my house."

"Oh thank goodness," said Nanoha, letting out a sigh of relief. "Wait, what happened to the apartment? How did it get fixed?"

"The TSAB sent some men to handle the repairs," said Lindy, taking another sip. "Don't worry; no one knows you were here. I had Amy slip you girls out before they showed up. Once I mentioned that my home had been attacked by the Grim Reaper, they immediately outfitted the place with the best security system the Research and Development Department had to offer. We have Mana sensors, movement activated laser grids, and over thirty defense Spells guarding the place. Even if she came back, she won't be able to get us in here."

"The Grim Reaper…" Nanoha murmured. "What happened to her?"

"Well, after you passed out, the Grim Reaper tried to go after you again," said Yuuno. "But she could barely stand as it is and once Lindy stepped in I think she realized she couldn't keep fighting and took off. I tried locating her position for two hours, but I couldn't find her. Either she's gone off world or her location is shielded."

"As long as she's gone, I'm fine," said Nanoha. She slowly turned her legs around off the couch and winced; Alisa and Suzuka looked ready to jump to her aid, but she waved them off. "Man, you were right, Lindy-san, she wasn't like any of the bad guys I fought before – she's on a completely different level. It's amazing that I managed to survive."

"It's not just amazing, it's mind-boggling," said Lindy. "You didn't just survive a confrontation with the Grim Reaper, you beat her to a stalemate, and with a damaged Barrier Jacket. I can literally count the number of people on one hand that have managed that.

"I got lucky; she underestimated," said Nanoha. "She thought I was at a disadvantage because my magic was broken that she didn't think I was capable of anything else. And on top of that, it didn't look like she had much skill in defense – she seemed to choose offensive skill above everything else. If her defense had been a little stronger, that last spell might not have worked."

"And speaking of that last spell," said Yuuno, crawling down Lindy's arm and landing on the coffee table. "How did you do that? Flash Move and Strike Smasher – you never used those spells until now."

"That's because I didn't have them until today," said Nanoha. "I just saw the Grim Reaper do them and thought maybe I could do them to."

"Amazing," Yuuno said in awe. "You always were able to learn the new spells I taught you much faster than usual, but they had always been simple spells. To think that you're learning capability was advanced enough to mimic and adapt transport and bombardment spells to your style so quickly…. Clearly we need to expand your skill set to more than just shooting and shielding spells. Maybe focus more on Bombardment and area-of-effect types…."

"Well, it's not going to matter now," Nanoha said sadly, picking up Raising Heart and staring into her reflective surface. "That last spell completely ruined my Barrier Jacket. I can't be the White Devil if I don't have a costume to conceal my identity."

Just then, Yuuno chuckled in a superior sort of way, causing everyone to stare at him.

"This is a lucky coincidence," said Yuuno. "Because I just happen to finish your _new _Barrier Jacket this morning."

"Seriously?" Nanoha asked excitedly.

"Uh-huh, wanna see it?" said Yuuno.

Nanoha was shaking her head up and down so fast one could have mistaken her for a bobble head. Yuuno gave another small laugh, scurried off the table, and disappeared into the other room. Everyone watched in that direction for a full minute before the genius ferret ran back into the room with a flat disk in his mouth. Jumping back on the table, Yuuno set the disk in front of Nanoha, Alisa, and Suzuka and pressed a button on the side. The center of the disk glowed and a large hologram popped up in front of them; the girls made noises of wonder and amazement.

The new Barrier had the same color scheme as the original, but it was noticeably bulkier around the chest and shoulders for heavier defense. Heavy, blue steel vambraces had been added to the arms and black fingerless gloves underneath. Shield generators that looked like Raising Heart's standby form were added to her shoes as well as steel guards around her waist to defend from side blows. And on the chest where her ribbon used to be, a red jewel with three golden prongs facing down had replaced it (when Nanoha openly complained, Yuuno retorted that it was for her own safety). In addition to the changes to her Barrier Jacket, there was also a projection of Raising Heart's default form, which appeared to have gained a blue steel handguard and a white fin below the head.

Nanoha couldn't form the words to express how grateful she was for her new Jacket, instead choosing to hug the little ferret until he lost consciousness. And as the young superhero stared deeply at her new wardrobe, she began to think about the next time she would encounter the Grim Reaper. And when they did meet again, she would be prepared.

* * *

Mizuiro Kaiju leaned forward with his elbows on his desk, his hands folded, and glaring dangerous at the mess that had showed up in his office. When the Grim Reaper had promised that she would bring in the White Devil by sundown, she had expected to see the white-clothed mage in tatters on her floor, not the assassin he had paid good money for. The girl was practically a mummy; covered from nearly head-to-toe in bandage wraps. She didn't have the nerve to look the Leviathan in the eye, which was a good thing because Mizuiro wasn't she he wanted to look at her at the moment.

"Well, this is a rare sight," said Mizuiro. "The Grim Reaper, not only failing to complete a job, but also crawling back with bruises and the stench of defeat. You know, Miss Reaper – " he fell back into his chair, hands on his lap – "when I hired you, it was because you were the best man – er, woman – for the job. Your record speaks for itself. But now I'm starting to wonder if that dark and brooding cutthroat persona is all just for show."

"I…apologize," the Grim Reaper mumbled pathetically. "It was my fault. I did not take the time to thoroughly understand the White Devil. I tried to exploit her flaws and ended up exposing my own. I have no excuses."

"Well, I can't completely blame you," said Mizuiro. "Better men have fallen victim to the Devil's tricks. Of course, because you failed, that means our contract is – "

"NO!" the Grim Reaper screamed, slamming her hands on the desk. Mizuiro stared and the Grim Reaper, realizing she had acted out, quickly composed herself and cleared her throat, hoping to pretend that didn't happen. "Sorry. Mr. Kaiju, please, give me another chance. I may have lost to the White Devil today, but I've learned much more than I did before. I can use this new information to be better prepared. Please, just give me another chance!"

Mizuiro hummed thoughtfully, tapping his fingers together and staring avidly at the girl.

"Please, you know I wouldn't be begging if I wasn't desperate," said the Grim Reaper. "I NEED this money – this is the only chance I'm ever going to get. Please, just…just let me try again. I swear I won't mess up, please."

Mizuiro eyed her for a minute longer, studying her, calculating the possibilities in his head. And after a moment of careful thinking, the Leviathan sighed.

"All right, you can try again," said Mizuiro. "Take as many attempts as you need. If you succeed, I can finally be rid of the White Devil. If you fail, I don't have to pay you. I'm in a position where I have nothing to lose. So take your time."

"Thank you, thank you, Mr. Kaiju," said the Grim Reaper gratefully, moving to leave before he changed his mind. "I swear I won't let you down."

"I'm sure you won't," said Mizuiro as the door closed behind her. "Whether she succeeds or fails, I'll have one less obstacle to deal with. The question remains is, who will be the first to fall: the White Devil…or Precia Testarossa? Ooh, I can't wait to see how the story ends."

* * *

**Yukari Tamura: **Souls lost in hopelessness and despair, a shadow spirits them away into the unknown. Deep below the surface of the city, the White Devil searches in a desperate attempt to rescue the souls from the monsters that lay within the shadows. But in her struggle, she may soon learn that real monsters do not always have fangs and claws. Next time on the White Devil:

**What Lies Below (nano)?**

**Nanoha, Alisa, &amp; Suzuka**: Magical! Lyrical! We'll do our best!


	9. What Lies Below (nano)

**The White Devil**

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha © Masaki Tsuzuki  
Runaways © Marvel  
All Characters © Respective Owners.

* * *

**Lyrical Record 8: What Lies Below (nano)?**

Nico was panting very hard – a stitch starting to form in her side – but she couldn't slow down yet. She needed to keep everyone in front of her, to pick them up in case they start to fall behind. Klara looked very close to passing out; she was unaccustomed to running for lengthy periods of time, whereas the rest of them had years to practice escaping from people chasing them. Nico dared to look back. They had managed to put some distance between themselves and their pursuers, but their group was starting to slow down and it would only be a matter of time before they were caught.

Nico made a groan of annoyance. These bastards have been chasing them for ten hours straight, ever since they first set foot in Uminari City. She should have known better to try and hide in Japan – all those old timey Kaiju films Karolina used to make her watch should have been dead giveaway.

Suddenly, Chase stopped in the middle of the street, causing the rest of the group to stop with him.

"What're we stopping for?" hissed Nico, looking back for a quick moment. "They're going to be here any minute. We have to keep moving."

"Look," said Chase, pointing at the manhole cover at his feet. "We can hide down there."

"You want to go down to the sewers?" said Karolina, making a disgusted expression. "That's nasty. What do you think we are, a bunch of pizza-eating turtles?"

"It's a lot better than running ourselves ragged up here," said Chase pointedly. "Look, we just need to hide out somewhere until the heat dies down. We hide out below for a couple hours, then we can get the hell out of this city."

"Aw, but I wanted to see the White Devil," Molly pouted.

Nico shook her head at one of the younger members of their little party. That was the whole purpose for coming to this godforsaken city in the first place. Molly was a huge fan of superheroes, and knowing that there was someone the same age as her flying around shooting pink beams of death made it all the more reason for them to come. Molly begged, whined, and smashed their hideout until Nico finally caved. She was soft on Molly and Karolina, but Nico couldn't deny she'd like the opportunity to meet another magic-user, especially someone much younger than herself.

Nico was dragged out of her thoughts when a loud clattered echoed from the alleyway just a ways down the road. Several angry voices called afterwards and they could see lights starting to creep around the corner.

"All right, everyone get below," Nico finally agreed. "Molly, would you please?"

The little girl in the animal hat grinned and cracked her knuckles like the people she saw in cartoons; Chase and the others gave her a wide berth. Molly bent down, grabbing the edges of the manhole cover, and a soft pink glow filled her eyes. She grunted with obvious exaggeration to make it look like she was struggling, but nonetheless ripped the cover out of the ground, holding it above her head in one hand as if it weighed less than a feather.

Nico could hear their pursuers getting closer; their lights were edging closer and closer to their position. Nico silently gestured her friends down the holes quickly. Karolina dived in first, not bothering to use the ladder, while Chase and Victor climbed down after her. Klara looked the most hesitant to go down, which was understandable given her history, so Nico gently took her hand and guided the little girl down the hole. Once everyone had gone in, Molly went last; making sure the manhole cover was properly set before climbing down. And it was just in time as their pursuers appeared around the corner, shining their lights around the area where the Runaways had been just moments ago.

"Where'd they go?"

"You lost them? How could you lose a bunch of kid, baka?"

"Man, the Leviathan is gonna kill us."

The Runaways stayed still and silent as the Leviathan's henchmen scrambled around the street above them; the only light coming through the holes in the manhole cover. Nico focused on the cover intently, more than to know if the henchman would follow them, she really didn't want to think about how they were standing ankle deep in sewer crap. And after searching the area for several minutes, the Leviathan's men finally moved on to the next street. Nico took a deep breath of sweet relief, then she choked on the rancid air.

"Karo - *cough* - Karolina, light - *cough* - light us up," said Nico, wheezing.

Almost immediately, the tunnel was illuminated in a somewhat mystical glow of colors, all of which radiated from the girl hovering inches above the sewage, her skin glistening in every color of the rainbow. Now that she could see, Nico took a quick look around at her team. Predictably, Molly was clinging to Chase's side, while Klara was clinging to Molly's side, looking more frightened than either of them, and Victor was trying very hard to keep out of the sewerage. Looking up and down the tunnel, Nico turned to Victor and said:

"That's it; we're getting the hell out of this city. Vic, what's the fastest way out?"

"I'm trying to pull up the city's schematics now," said Victor, tapping the side of his head, "but it's taking a lot longer than you would expect. Someone called…Sky Knight trying to block me out. Don't know who the guy is, but he's good – I'm throwing every cyberattack I can think up, but he's blocking them all. Could take me an hour at best."

"We don't have an hour," said Nico urgently. "We don't know how long we have until they realize – "

Whatever it was that Nico was prepared to rant over went unsaid as a noise echoed down the tunnel. Everyone stopped what they were doing; no one made a sound except Klara, whose head was buried into Molly's shoulder, moaning timidly. Nico stared down the tunnel as far as Karolina's light could shine, pulling out a pocket knife and pressing the edge against the palm of her hand, ready to make the cut. Chase was already at her side, slipping on his gloves, while Karolina hovered behind them.

It took a moment, but the Runaways heard the noise again, louder than before. It sounded something between a low growl and a quiet purr – maybe they found another cat demon, Nico thought wildly for a moment. The growls were joined by a chorus of scratching noises and wet slaps, echoing louder and louder as whatever it was got closer to them. The noises were right on top of them but whatever was stalking through the tunnels could not be seen. Nico was starting to panic; she was very close to slicing her hand open. And then, without word or explanation, the noises suddenly stopped.

Nico and Chase were standing back to back, shooting their eyes up and down the tunnel; Nico's heart was beating a thousand miles per second. Suddenly, Nico felt something cold drip on her forehead, making her jump. The gothic teenager wiped the liquid off her brow, thinking just for a moment that it was just water, until she noticed that there was too much thickness to it; it felt more like drool. That thought in mind, Nico slowly turned her eyes to the ceiling, and when she looked up, she found herself staring into a pair of bulbous black eyes casting her reflection back at her. Not realizing that she had dropped her knife, Nico remained frozen in place, only able to utter two words:

"Oh shit…"

The creature dived off the ceiling, tackling Karolina into the water, and everything went black.

* * *

Time rolled over into the afternoon the day after the Runaways disappeared into the sewers, but no one seemed to notice or care where they had gone. Rather, the attention of the public was gathered around a private factory in the lower east side of Uminari's Industrial District. A large crowd was cluttering outside the factory, most of them teenagers trying to get a good shot of the scene with their camera phones, all of them being held back by the police line. Signum frowned. Why were people always attracted to dangerous areas, she couldn't help wondering.

"Everyone, stay back – I said, STAY BACK!" Signum yelled, staring pointedly at one high schooler daring to cross the tape. "This is a crime scene! Please disperse immediately!"

"Is it true that the White Devil is fighting the Sparkler inside?"

"Is the White Devil working with the Police?"

"Is the White Devil secretly a waitress working at the Rabbit House?"

"Yes, no, and what the hell?" said Signum, staring at the third person strangely. "Everyone, I am not going to say it again! Please disperse, or else I'll have to – "

Whatever Signum had to do was left unknown as a loud _**crash **_erupted above their heads. Signum spun around on her heels and snapped her head up just as Blitzkrieg burst the brick wall of the factory's second level with the White Devil shouldering him in the abdomen. The crowd finally scattered and the police ducked for cover as bricks – both whole and fragmented – rained down from above.

The White Devil and Blitzkrieg remained momentarily suspended in the air until the electricity-wielding villain regained his senses and glared down at the hero pressing against his gut. Blitzkrieg reached down and grasped both of the White Devil's shoulders, unloading several thousand volts of electricity directly into her nervous system. The White Devil visibly flinched underneath her hood, but her new Barrier Jacket absorbed the electricity much better than her old version and effortlessly shrugged Blitzkrieg's hands off and pushed him away. Blitzkrieg looked shocked (the White Devil regrets not saying that out loud.)

"Sorry, Sparky, but that's not going to work against my new Jacket," said the White Devil. She started to glide higher into the air as Blitzkrieg started to fall; three pink rings formed around her wrist as a ball of energy took shape in her palm. "My wardrobe isn't the only thing that's new. Check this out, courtesy of the Grim Reaper: **Strike Smasher!**"

A column of pink energy exploded from her hand, zooming downwards and bombarding Blitzkrieg in its light. The electrified supervillain was rocketed toward the ground and slammed into the top of one of the surrounding police cars; the siren wailed briefly before it died into a pathetic whine. Blitzkrieg laid sprawled all over the crushed metal; his suit sparking in various places. The White Devil grabbed the collar of his suit and ripped it off; the sparks vanished and the suit powered down.

"Wow, that went better than I thought it would," said the White Devil, apparently impressed with her own capabilities. "This new Barrier Jacket is totally awesome; I love the new Automated Personnel Shielding System, by the way, Yuuno-Kun. Sparky would have fried me without it."

"**Given your reckless nature, I knew it would be a good idea to boost your defenses,**" said Yuuno. "**Had to sacrifice your speed to do it, but your style is more suited to mid-and-long-range rather than Close Quarters Combat. And with those new spells you learned from your fight with the Grim Reaper, you'll be more inclined to fight from a distance rather than putting yourself out.**"

"The Jacket may have protected me, but I could still feel the electricity coming through," said the White Devil. "And now that he knows his old tricks aren't going to work, Sparky's gonna amp up his suit to make them even stronger. I don't want to go through the same issue as the last Jacket."

"**Already ahead of you,**" said Yuuno. "**Alisa-san and Suzuka-san actually had the foresight to suggest some alternate forms for your Barrier Jacket to be use for specific situations. I'm working on an insulated suit to absorb the electricity, but the problem is finding the right polymer that would integrate with the Jacket's systems.**"

"Yeah…right, uh-huh," said the White Devil, not having a clue what he is saying. She then noticed Signum walking over to her, mouth agape. "Could you hold on a minute, Yuuno-kun? Hey, Siggy, pretty good job, don't ya think? I think I beat him in record time…. And that was your car, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was," said Signum, groaning. "Why? Why is it always my car? I mean, seriously, do you go out of your way just to smash my car every time you get into a fight."

"I don't go out of my way to wreck it," said the White Devil innocently. "It's just a happy coincidence."

"Happy coincidence," Signum repeated with a sneer. "Why, you little – "

"_Hello? Hellooooo? Is this thing on?_"

Signum and the White Devil stared at each other wide-eyed, both recognizing the voice. Signum stood up straight and looked around for the originator, but the entire street was clear, save for the few cops in the middle of fitting Blitzkrieg in handcuffs. Signum scratched her head, looking to the White Devil, who only shrugged her shoulders in response. It was only then that the White Devil noticed the jewel at Raising Heart's head glowing softly – she had almost missed it because it was very bright this afternoon.

The White Devil held Raising Heart out in front between herself and Signum. Then, without the little heroes consent, a holographic image projected itself above the staff head. On the other end of the screen, to the White Devil's despair and Signum's ire, Hayate Yagami was sitting at her desk, waving cheerfully at the two.

"_I finally managed to get through to you_," said Hayate, wiping her brow exaggeratedly of imaginary sweat. "_Gotta give credit where credit is due, Devil. It took me a whole hour to patch through your communication line._"

"Hayate!" yelled the White Devil. "What are you – how did - I don't – "

"What I think she's trying to say is," Signum interjected, "how the hell did you manage to hack into her…whatever that magic wand thing is."

"It's not a magic wand!" the White Devil snapped, looking insulted.

"_Let me tell you, it wasn't easy_," said Hayate, leaning back in her wheelchair. "_Cracking through a quadruple-layer, matrix-fused, Dacrytitan Firewall was difficult enough without having to dodge the eight-hundred thousand server guardians and insane levels of anti-ware security. You don't mess around, do ya, Devil?_"

"Have to keep meddling kids like you out, don't I?" said the White Devil.

"I told you to stay away from the White Devil," Signum said seriously, ripping Raising Heart out of the Devil's hand. "So you better give me a good reason why I shouldn't ground you and take away your computers, Hayate Yagami."

"_First off, call me Sky Knight – it's sounds more heroic,_" said Hayate. "_And second of all, yes, I do have a good reason for calling the White Devil. Though I guess you might want to know about this too, Nee-chan. You see, last night at 11:27 P.M., someone tried hacking into the city's CVC security mainframe. Luckily, I was up that night investigating the city's mainframe when I noticed it. I managed to block out whoever was hacking into the system and traced the signal back to hacker. Apparently, it was someone named Victor Mancha._" She uploaded a picture of the teen on the screen._ "The kid was good – just about gave me a run for my yen_."

"Do I even want to know what you were doing up late last night?" asked Signum, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"_I find it's better not to ask_," said Hayate.

"So what does a hacker have to do with me," asked the White Devil, snatching her Device back. "That sounds more like a problem for the police."

"_Normally, I'd agree with you_," said Hayate, suddenly looking serious, folding her hands in front of her. "_But the way the guy was so good with computers bothered me a little, so I did a little investigating. Turns out, Victor Mancha isn't exactly human. He's actually a cyborg made from molecular re-arranging nanites. And who's the only other…er, person in the world with molecular re-arranging nanites?_"

"Ultron," said the White Devil darkly.

"Ultron?" Signum gasped. "That psychotic machine from America? The one that tried to wipe out all human life?"

"_That's the one,_" said Hayate. "_The good news is recent reports suggest that Mancha is no longer until Ultron's control and has taken up residence with a group other superpowered kids. Here – I'm uploading them to your device."_

Along with Victor Mancha's profile picture, five others appeared on the holographic screen, blocking out Hayate. Both Signum and the White Devil were surprised to see so many of them; Uminari was small compared to other cities and, according to Lindy, the White Devil was the only one with powers in the entire Prefecture. Signum was more concerned by the fact that two of them were the same age as the White Devil.

"_They call themselves the Runaways – kinda fitting,_" said Hayate. "_You already know about Victor Mancha – cyborg with electric based powers. Others include: Karolina Dean – alien with bioluminescent skin and solar energy blasts. Molly Hayes – pre-teen mutant with Level Ten super strength. Klara Prast – another pre-teen mutant with chlorokinetic powers. Chase Stein – no powers recorded, but possesses an array of futuristic technology. And Nico Minoru – dark magic user with a freaky staff thing._"

"There's another mage in Uminari?" the White Devil said surprised. "As if having the Grim Reaper around wasn't enough. I feel kinda weird about this."

"What's weird is what a bunch of superpowered children are doing in Uminari City unsupervised," said Signum, looking dangerously serious. It was a well-known fact that Signum did not approved of children putting themselves in harm's way, especially the White Devil. "Where are they now, Hayate?"

"_I told you, it's Sky Knight!_" Hayate whined; Signum leered at her. "_Oh, fine, break the whole secret identity code, why don't ya. As for the Runaways, that's kind what I wanted to talk to the White Devil about. When I traced the connection back to Victor Mancha, I hacked into his internal data files and learned that they were being chased by the Leviathan's men lest night._"

"Why is the Leviathan after a bunch of kid?" asked the White Devil.

"_Who knows what that guy is ever thinking?_" said Hayate, shrugging. "_They managed to escape into the sewers and that's when Mancha tried to hack into the city records. I was fighting him off well enough when he just dropped off the network all of a sudden. I tried reestablishing the signal, but he completely dropped off the radar._"

"The sewers are sometimes laced with lead," said the White Devil. "Maybe that's why the signal was cut off."

"Or something worse might have happened," said Signum, frowning.

"_It wouldn't hurt to do a little investigating,_" said Hayate, typing away at her keyboard. "_I'm uploading a marker of their last known location to your Device._"

"Thanks, Haya – er, Sky Knight," said the White Devil; Hayate cheered. "You've been a great help…. And no, I won't tell you my secret identity."

"_Aww_," Hayate whined before disconnecting.

Bringing up the city map on Raising Heart's screen, the White Devil spotted the red marker Hayate had placed in the upper east side of the city just a quick flight away. But before the pre-teen hero could get her feet off the ground, Signum suddenly grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. The White Devil stared up at her curiously.

"Oh no, I'm not trusting you to take care of a group of superpowered children," said Signum. "If you're going, then you're taking me with you – no arguments. The last thing we need is a trigger happy vigilante blowing up the sewers."

"Aw, but I'm cuddly as a kitten," the White Devil said jokingly.

Lieutenant Yagami was not amused. With an audible sigh, the White Devil knew that Signum was not going to walk away without agreeing to her terms. So the white-clothed mage had no choice but to Signum by her arm and shot toward the sky like a bullet leaving a pistol. She knew she didn't have to go so fast, but hearing the police Lieutenant screaming like a scared little girl behind her was too good to pass up.

* * *

As Signum climbed down the last rung of the ladder and splashed into the ankle-deep sewage, the White Devil face crinkled up underneath her mask. There was no way she was going to set foot in a river of...human waste; she could feel the bile starting to rise in her throat at the thought. The White Devil remained grateful to have mastered the spell of self-propelled flight, staying at least a foot above the sludge. Signum, on the other hand, trudged through the murky water without any signs of disgust or potential vomiting.

"How can you just walk in that…garbage and not throw up?" asked the White Devil disgustingly.

"I've been in a lot of disgusting places in my five years as a cop," said Signum, "so being down in the city sewers is a fresh change of paces."

"I do not even want to know where you have been to consider this place 'fresh'," said the White Devil.

"Like Hayate said, sometimes it's better not to ask," Signum said sagely. "This was their last known location, but they aren't around. Any idea how we're going to find them?"

"I don't know," the White Devil admitted. "The lead in the walls is disrupting all of my wavelength scanners. I thought I could at least find Nico Minoru through the Eternano scan, but everything comes up negative, which is weird because the scan doesn't exist on a wavelength that should be affected by the lead lacing."

"Eter – what?" said Signum cluelessly.

"Eternano – the particles that are used for magic," the White Devil explained. "You see, people like me are born with an extra organ called a Linker Core, which collect the particles in the atmosphere through our skin and expels them the same way when using a spell."

"You learn something new every day," said Signum. "Well, we're not going to find them by standing – or floating, in your case – around. We need to canvas the area. You have a light on that magic wand thing?"

The White Devil's first instinct was to tell Signum that Raising Heart was not a magic wand, but she sighed and decided it wasn't worth it. The White Devil muttered the words under her breath and the jewel of Raising Heart's head glowed brightly, coloring the narrow tunnel in a vibrant shade of red. The White Devil prided herself in having very strong eyesight, but the pre-teen hero could not for the life of her find anything that could tell them where the Runaways went within the small range of light they had. But apparently Signum could. Within ten seconds of scanning the area, the police lieutenant kneeled deeper into the sludge (the White Devil swallowed back her bile) and leaning in close to the wall, tracing her fingers near the bottom.

"Hey, shine your magic wand on this spot right here," Signum commanded.

Grumbling that Raising Heart was not a magic wand, the White Devil held the light over Signum's head. Upon closer inspection, it looked like the wall had –

"Claw marks?" said the White Devils surprised. "Are those really claw marks?"

"Yeah, and they're pretty deep," said Signum, running a finger over one of the four scars in the stone. "I estimate them roughly within two inches in length – way longer than any animal I've ever seen – and clearly very strong. This is foundation level concrete laced with lead; you'd have to have the cutting force of a masonry saw."

"Could be that either the Leviathan or Bleed is providing some off-world tech," said the White Devil. "We've already seen Seismic manipulate rock."

"Except there's no trace of metal scraping or any foreign material," Signum rejected. "This was done naturally; like it was made by some animal. Hmm…it looks like it was hunting something."

She stood up following an invisible path with her finger; the White Devil followed her hand movement with Raising Heart sighting her light on the area he was pointing to

"The animal or whatever it was climbed onto the ceiling and stopped just short of the ladder," Signum continued. "Judging by the puncture makes in the concrete, it held its ground, waiting for something. The scraps behind the punctures suggest that it jumped off not long after; it possible that someone saw it and attacked. There are signs of a struggle everywhere, like here" – she walked over to the wall, where she spotted a tiny black mark that the White Devil missed complete – "a burn mark with a lingering scent of burning metal. Someone was trying to fight back. And here" – she pointed to a tiny crack a foot away from the burn mark – "there was barely noticeable indentations that suggest that it was punched by a tiny fist – probably that Molly girl. And look" – she jabbed her hands into the sludge (the White Devil visibly shuddered) and pulled out a handful of muddy flowers – "this area should be unsustainable for plant life. I'm willing to bet Klara Prast called them to her defense."

"That's amazing, Signum," the White Devil said in awe. "You managed to figure all that out from just a bunch of scratches in the wall?"

"I was lead on the investigative unit before I got promoted," Signum said simply. "Guess you never really grow out of it."

"So what happens next?" asked the White Devil.

"Well, it looks like the fighting continues for a while," said Signum, walking down the tunnel with her hand brushing the walls. "There are more marks from the children than whatever attacked them, so it's obvious that they were very scared. There aren't a lot of scratch marks either – maybe they had managed to subdue it. Hmm…and you see, right here" – she pointed to a clear patch of wall – "the fighting stopped right here, but I can't tell who won. There are no bodies around, so either no one died or whatever attacked them dragged them away."

"I'm really hoping it's the former," said the White Devil. "So if the fight ended a while ago, where did they go? Think the Runaways might have gotten out of town or…."

"Hayate said the Leviathan was looking for them," said Signum. "Knowing that man, he wouldn't let them get out that easily. No, I have a feeling they might still be around somewhere."

"Then which way did they go?" asked the White Devil.

"…that wand of yours," said Signum, turning to the hero in curiosity, "can it project 3D imaging in the sewage? The sludge essentially has the same consistency as mud, so if they weren't here too long ago, there should be some residue of the presence here. Maybe a footprint or something of that nature."

So impressed by the police lieutenant's creative ingenuity was the White Devil that she had forgotten to correct Signum that Raising Heart was not a magic wand. Though she had never used Raising Heart's holographic projector to recreate a scene, the White Devil nonetheless scanned the sewerage – a narrow beam of red light shining over the sludge. Just as Signum had suspected, glowing pink footprints shined underneath the water as Raising Heart's scanner glided over them. Everything was a jumbled mess; most of the footprints were overlapping each other in every direction, showing that the Runaways had panicked in the beginning. But as the scan traveled further up the tunnel, it showed that the footprints started going in the same direction, and they were joined by another set of prints and these prints were clearly not human in origin. They were twice as big as the runaway's prints and they looked like something out of that awful Jurassic Park movie Kyouya made her watch one time.

"It looks like they were heading south," said the White Devil. "And it doesn't look like they were alone. Whatever it was that attacked them, they went with it of their own free will."

"Follow those tracks," Signum ordered.

And the White Devil glided down the tunnel following the 3D prints with Signum splashing behind her. The pair stopped briefly at the first intersection so the White Devil could collect her bearings then turned left alongside the eastern tunnel before taking another right and then going straight at the third intersection. The more they pushed through the sewers, the worse the smell had become; the White Devil was fighting back the bile crawling up from her stomach and fruitlessly trying to cover her nose and mouth in her hands. Though she was very nauseous from the stench, the White Devil had to admit to the brilliance of using the tunnels as an escape route. Most men and woman were have given up in sickness from getting too far in, but the pair persevered and when they reached the end of tunnel, they had to stop for a moment so that their eyes could adjust to the sudden brightness they had walked into. Rubbing her eyes irritably, the White Devil blinked as her eyes finally became accustomed to the inexplicable bright light in the dark sewers, and when she had a good look around, they became as wide as dinner plates.

They had wondered into what appeared to be an abandoned sewer junction roughly the same size as the Takamachi household, if not a tiny bit smaller. The first thing that the pair noticed was that the air was clean; they couldn't smell the raw sewage that was literally inches away from them. The center of the junction was occupied by a murky green pool that was littered with trash and other waste material while the walls were either cracked of broken, but still remained strongly in place. But despite the initial wear and tear of the place, it looked like the junction had been converted to make the place more habitable. Moth-eaten couches and stained mattress had been spread out around the junction along with piles of blankets that looked to be freshly washed. There were at least four barrel fires to make keep the place warm and an entire wall of food crates was stacked on the far side. At least three search lights were hanging from the ceiling along with a pair of devices that looked like air purifiers, explaining why the chamber was the bright and clean-smelling.

But what was most surprising was what – or who – was waiting for them at the end of the tunnel. Rather than six runaways, the White Devil and Signum stumbled upon what appeared to be a small colony of people. The age and ethnicity of the people was greatly varied; the oldest was a thin, bald man of African descent playing a game of chess with a balding Englishman, and the youngest were a group of prepubescent children babbling in a mixture of Russian, German, and Arabic. A lot of them were dressed in nice clothes despite their living conditions, and none of them seemed as desperate as the White Devil had expected them to be. On the contrary, they actually seemed quite content with where they were.

"Uh… Signum…where are we?" asked the White Devil, her mind reeling from the scene.

"It looks like some kind of…underground shelter of sorts," said Signum with uncertainty in her voice. "A very elaborate and well-maintained shelter at that. How long has this been here and why has no one ever noticed it before?"

"Lieutenant Yagami, is that you?" they turned as the African man stood up from his game and walked over to Signum, arms outstretched and a big smile on his face. "Lieutenant Yagami, it is you? My, my, this is a pleasant surprise."

"Faraji," said Signum, looking pleasantly surprised as she briefly hugged the man. "What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in months."

"Forgive me for not stopping by more often," said Faraji, chuckling. "Been pretty busy around here trying to keep these people in line. Some of the younger residents need a firm talking to whenever they cause trouble for the others."

"Signum, you know this guy?" asked the White Devil confused.

"Hayate and I volunteer at the homeless shelter on weekends," said Signum. "Faraji was one of the residents. He lost his job a few months back due to Mizuiro Kaiju buying up the company he worked with. Hayate always liked listening to the stories of his homeland. Then three months ago, he just vanished along with more than half of the residents at the shelter. Is this where you've been staying the whole time?"

"Just about," said Faraji. "Things were not getting any better at the shelter; some of the volunteers were stealing food and clothes that were supposed to go to the homeless, and that was before they started limiting the number of residents due to budget cuts. Not a whole lot of people care about us like you do, Lieutenant. Some of us where just thrown out on our butts because they didn't want to take care of us anymore. It seemed hopeless for us, until we were brought here" – he gestured his arms around the sewer junction – "the Sanctuary: a place where homeless and runaways could live peacefully."

"Speaking of runaways," the White Devil interrupted, displaying the pictures of the Runaways. "Have you seen these kids anywhere? They went missing last night."

"You mean Nico's group," said Faraji. "Yeah, they arrived just this morning. Look, they're over there."

He pointed to the opposite end of the junction, toward and old drainage pipe that was spewing waste into the central pool. All six Runaways were sitting in a circle close to the pipe, cards in their hands; it looked like they were playing poker. Leaving Signum with Faraji, the White Devil glided over to them just as Molly Hayes slammed down her card, throwing her hands up in jubilation while the other groaned or threw their cards away in frustration. Molly scooped up her prize (a pile of sugary sweets) as the White Devil landed just outside their circle. Naturally, the older members of the group jumped up to their feet in a defensive position while Klara stayed behind Chase. Molly, on the other hand, squealed when she saw the superhero.

"Oh my gosh, it her!" Molly shrieked excitedly, tugging on Nico's sleeve. "See? See? I told you she was real! It's the White Devil! It's the White Devil!"

"I can see that," Nico said gently, prying her sleeve from Molly's iron grip. "Well…um, White Devil. This is a…surprise. Didn't expect to see you down here."

"I was about to say the same thing," said the White Devil. "Nico Minoru, right? The rest of you are…Chase Stein, Victor Mancha, Klara Prast, Karolina Dean, and Molly Hayes" – Molly cheered at the mention of her name – "call yourselves the Runaways, right?"

"How do ya know who we are?" asked Chase suspiciously.

"The Leviathan is sending his goon squad to look for your guys all over town," said the White Devil, crossing her arms. "And if the Leviathan is looking for you, then it's my job to keep you guys clear of him."

"Those guys who were chasing us called their boss the Leviathan," Victor mentioned. "I tried looking him up, but this place doesn't exactly have the best wireless reception. Who is he? What does he want from us?"

"The Leviathan is a seriously bad guy," the White Devil explained. "A crime lord that has a hand in practically every shady business deal that goes in and out of Uminari City. Normally he deals in selling alien technology on the black market and illegal exports, but I can't think of a reason why he'd want to come after a bunch of kids – well, I technically shouldn't call any of you kids since you're older than me. I was kind hoping you'd shed some light on this whole thing."

"Hell if we know," said Victor, leaning against the pipe. "The guys were on us from the moment we got off the boat; chased us up and down the city from day to night. We only got away because we got underground."

"That's when we met Komodo," said Molly eagerly.

"Komodo?" the White Devil repeated curiously. "As in a komodo dragon? Was that the thing that attacked you back in the tunnels?"

"Well, actually – " Karolina began, but the rest was blocked out by a gurgling sound.

The White Devil cautiously turned her head, facing the cesspool of filth that was suddenly bubbling with air. The White Devil gently pushed Nico and Molly out of her way as she approached the dirty pool, Raising Heart gripped tightly in her hands. Signum seemed to notice also; the White Devil saw her pulling out her sidearm out of her peripheral vision. As she moved closer, the sewage bubbled faster and a large shadow started to form through the murky water. Making sure to switch Raising Heart to Cannon Mode, the White Devil aimed at the shadow as the bubbling stopped. For a moment, there was silence…. And then the water exploded.

The White Devil, taken back by the sudden eruption, fell on her butt as the raw sewage splashed all over her (Nanoha would take seven showers by the end of the day). She made noises of clear disgust as she tried to wipe as much gunk off her new Jacket as possible. As she was wringing out her skirt, the White Devil noticed a large shadow being cast over her and tentatively looked up, her jaw dropping and her eyes going wide.

The White Devil now understood why they called it Komodo – the beast was an actual humanoid komodo dragon. Instantly reminded of other reptile villains like the Lizard or Killer Croc, the White Devil noticed that Komodo was much smaller than her American counterpart, falling just short of six feet. The creature has a curvaceous and slender body, making it look rather feminine, which Nanoha assumed was because it was a female. It body was covered entirely in dusty-green scales from which the water slipped off naturally and a thin tail as long as its body. And as if its general appearance wasn't odd enough, Komodo was also wearing camouflage cargo pants and a stretched-out T-shirt that said 'Lizard Lounge'.

So taken by the lizard woman's sudden appearance, the White Devil was unable to react as Komodo climbed out of the cesspool, walking up to her and the Runaways so casually. Komodo leaned forward, tilting her head curiously at the White Devil as if she had never seen anything like her before. Komodo's yellow forked slipped between her lips, hissing softly. And then she spoke:

"The White Devil," she said in a soft, almost gentle voice. "What are you – "

_**BANG!**_

The gunshot rang through the junction; Komodo hissed viciously as the bullet ricocheted off the scales of the shoulder and hit the floor. The lizard woman spun around on her heels – her tail narrowly taking out the White Devil – and raised her arms over her face as Signum unloaded her clip on her. The residents of the junction flew into a panic, ducking behind crates and barrels while the police lieutenant pushed Komodo back; Chase quickly grabbed Molly and Klara and jumped behind the pipes. All the while, the White Devil sat uselessly on the floor.

"Get your head out of your ass, Devil!" shouted Signum. "Take that thing out before it can hurt ayone!"

"Oh… yeah, right!" said the White Devil.

"No, wait, I'm not – " said Komodo fearfully.

"**Divine Shooter!**" shouted the White Devil.

Just as Signum's pistol ran out of bullets, Komodo slammed in the gut by a ball of very solid light, knocking all of the air out of the lizard woman's lungs. Another Mana bullet curved downward at Komodo's feet before shooting up and connecting with the underside of her jaw. Komodo was thrown backwards in a curved arc until the White Devil zipped above and swung Raising Heart down on the sewer dweller's chest. Komodo hit the ground with a loud _**crash**_; the stone cracked underneath her weight. Komodo weakly pushed herself up by her elbows, only to come face-to-face with the ends of the White Devil's staff and Signum's pistol.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay down," Signum said threateningly.

"Please, you're misunderstanding the situation," said Komodo desperately.

"A giant lizard monster in a sewer holding dozens of homeless people captive," said the White Devil. "Doesn't take a Level 12 Intellect to know what's going on. So I see you even blink funny, I'm gonna – "

"_**PAUSE!**_" Nico Minoru's voice echoed.

Unexpected and completely out of nowhere, a brief wave of bright purple energy washed over Signum and the White Devil, covering them in coats of purple aura. The White Devil would have just in surprise, but she quickly realized…she couldn't move at all. Indeed, the pre-teen superhero mentally commanded for her arms or legs to move; even the slightest twitch of a finger would have been satisfactory; but she was remained frozen. The only part of her body that still seemed to work was her eyes as they rolled over facing Signum's direction. The police lieutenant was caught in the same precarious situation as herself; her expression frozen mid-sneer, which looked very uncomfortable.

Komodo was getting back to her feet, and for a moment the White Devil feared that she would chew their heads off in retaliation. But instead, she turned her scaly head in a direction the White Devil couldn't see and said:

"Let them go, Nico."

"But they were about to skin you alive," Nico argued.

"It's just a misunderstanding," said Komodo calmly. "Let's just all take a deep breath and explain ourselves, all right? Let them go, Nico."

Though she couldn't see the gothic-styled mage, the White Devil could feel that Nico was hesitant to release them from whatever spell she had cast. After a long minute of silence, Nico muttered "_**RESUME**_" and the White Devil and Signum let out huge sighs of relief; their arms were starting to hurt from holding them up for so long.

The White Devil composed herself and craned her head back to stare up at Komodo. The large lizard woman did not look angry like the White Devil would have expected her to be; quite the contrary, Komodo nodded her head in an almost understanding way, as if the White Devil was right to attack her. It was very strange; Killer Croc and the Lizard would have ripped them limb from limb if they had the chance. The White Devil turned around towards the Runaways; Nico stood at the forefront of the group holding a circular golden staff that wasn't in her possession a moment ago, glaring at them. And, oddly enough, it wasn't just Nico that was shooting them dirty looks – almost everyone in the sewer junction was leering down on the White Devil and Signum from their hiding places as if _they _were the villains here. This was a new level of strange for the White Devil.

Whether or not Signum noticed the looks they were getting, the White Devil couldn't tell; she was locked in a staring contest with Komodo. The police lieutenant had a special sort of glare that was usually reserved for the White Devil; the kind of look that made her disapproval obvious and made you feel bad inside. The hand holding her pistol twitched and, for a brief second, the White Devil thought she was going to hoot again. Then Signum holstered her sidearm.

"All right, explain yourself," said Signum, losing none of her edge. "I get the sense that none of these people are here against their will. So what's really going on down here? I recognize half the people here from the homeless shelters before they went missing. Are you the one that brought them here?"

"Yes, I brought these people here when they had no place left to go," said Komodo, easing herself into a nearby couch, nursing her potentially broken ribs. "I don't remember how long ago it was since I arrived on the shore of Uminari. Honestly, much of my past is a blur to me. But when I came here, I knew I had set out to do something important, to help people who couldn't help themselves. That's when I met Faraji" – she nodded her head to the man – "he told me how people were losing their homes and jobs to major corporations like Kaiju. The shelters weren't doing much to help them either; most of the people here were turned away before they could get a foot in the door. It was heartbreaking to watch.

"That's when I realized why I came to Uminari City. I decided that I would create a place hidden from the rest of the city, providing these people with food, water, clothes, and shelter for those who have lost everything or are just lost. It took a long time to gather all the materials to making this old sewer junction suitable for habitation, but it was well worth the effort. Now we light, fresh air, a clean water supply" – the White Devil stared at the central pool – "a different water supply, and plenty of food that was uh…donated by the volunteers at the shelter. Faraji started spreading word to everyone on the street and, before you know it, The Sanctuary was born."

"I hadn't realized that things were getting that bad," said Signum, grimacing. "Had I known – "

"You don't have to say anything, Lieutenant Yagami – Yes, I know who you are," Komodo said in response to Signum's surprised look. "I've been watching you and the White Devil for a while now. Both of you are different from the rest of the city: you both care. Most people wouldn't stop to help a poor man on the street, but I've watched both of you take the time between fighting supervillains to help out, whether it's offering a little money of a loaf of bread. You're both wonderful people.

"Aw, shucks," said the White Devil shyly. Everyone stared at her with weird expressions. "What? Too much? No, you know what, it's good. So what're we gonna do now, Siggy? We chased the Runaways down here because we thought they were kidnapped, but – "

"It's technically not kidnapping if they came here freely," Signum finished. "There's not really much we can do about it. If they want to stay here, we can't force them."

"We don't plan on staying here for long," said Nico. "Just until the heat is off and the goon patrol is done looking for us. The minute it blows over, we're out of this messed up town."

"You guys are from America and you're calling Uminari messed up?" said the White Devil, her brown raised.

"She makes a good point," Victor agreed.

"You kids don't know the Leviathan like we do," said Signum seriously. "You can't just wait him out and expect him to give up. The Leviathan has been working the streets for over ten years, slowly buying off the most influential people and running several long-term operations in secret. The Leviathan is dangerous because he's patient. He'll follow you to the ends of the Earth and wait until the moment you slip up before he goes for the kill – that's just an expression," she added to Klara, who looked horrified.

Nico stared down Signum defiantly and opened her mouth to say something when Komodo raised her hand, cutting the conversation short. The lizard woman lifted herself off the couch with a groan. She hissed; her tongue slipping in and out of her lips. She eyes narrowed dangerously as she turned toward the entrance to the Sanctuary, crawling down on all-fours, baring her saliva-coated teeth and thrashing her tail anxiously.

"What's wrong?" the White Devil asked as she and Signum armed themselves.

"I smell a bad scent," said Komodo darkly. "Many bad scents."

Signum opened her mouth, but before she had the chance to say anything, the junction soon echoed with the din of a hundred gunshots firing one after another. The Sanctuary residents flew into immediate panic, screaming and shoving one another to get out of the line of fire. The White Devil instinctively turned on her heels to the noise and threw up a barrier, only just making in time before the bullets ricocheted off the shield into multiple directions. Signum reacted faster than the Devil thought she could, grabbing to two closest bodies – Karolina and Victor – and pulling them over behind the couch, sidearm already in hand. Komodo threw herself in front of Faraji and the other Runaways with her arms outstretched, taking the shots as if they were nothing more than harmless mosquitos.

At least two dozen men emerged from the entrance of the Sanctuary, each of them armed to the teeth: Kevlar body vests beneath paddled jackets, military grade semi-automatic rifles, and gas masks to block of the smell. They could only be working for the Leviathan, the White Devil thought.

"Retrieve the girl!" shouted the leading Leviathan soldier. "Everyone else is expendable!"

The soldiers initially fired in every direction to scattered the crowd, but quickly turned once they saw Komodo and the White Devil. They approached the pair at a cautiously slow pace while they unloaded their clips; the acoustics of the Sanctuary made the noise bounce around that the White Devil feared she would go deaf. Signum peeked over the couch as the soldiers passed by and fired two shots, hitting one in the shoulder and the other in the hip, sending them both to the ground. Two of the soldiers noticed their comrades falling and turned their guns on Signum's hiding space. The soldiers unleashed a hailstorm of bullets, shredding the couch to pieces, but none of them made contact with Signum. Just before the soldiers fired on them, Karolina grabbed Signum by her underarms and pulled up, carrying them both toward the ceiling. The police lieutenant blinked, then looked up at the psychedelic alien, who was grinning at her.

"Let me guess," said Signum. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"Born of Earth; parents were aliens," Karolina said simply.

"Makes about as much sense as everything else," said Signum, no longer questioning the weirdness of this town. "Wait, where's your friend?"

"Who, Vic?" said Karolina. "I wouldn't worry about him. If anything, it's those guys that should be scared."

Just as she said that, a bolt of electricity flew from the remnants of the couch and struck one of the soldiers in the chest, causing him to seize up and sputtering nonsensically before collapsing. The soldiers that were standing nearby looked down at their comrade then turned to Victor Mancha, who had stepped out into the open covered in an aura of electrical energy. The soldiers open fired on Victor, but the Son of Ultron only had to lift his hands to stop the bullets in mid-flight. Victor closed his hands, magnetically crushing the bullets into pins, and released concussive blasts from his fists that sent the soldiers flying.

"Not bad," Signum complimented, changing the clip in her gun. "Hey, rainbow, think you can swing me in low? I need to get a good shot on these assholes."

"Anything for you, beautiful," Karolina said thoughtlessly.

"What was that?" asked Signum, blinking.

"Nothing!" said Karolina quickly before diving-bombing the soldiers.

Komodo stood her ground; her back to the soldiers as they pelted her with bullets as she guarded Faraji, whose arms were wrapped protectively around Klara and Molly. Klara hands were clamped over her ears and her face screwed up in a terrible expression. They didn't have guns where Klara came from, so the loud noises terrified her. When Molly saw how scared her best friend was, her eyes gained their glowing purple hue and ripped a chunk of concrete out of the floor. Molly leaned around Faraji and Komodo and yelled:

"Stop scaring Klara!"

She threw the concrete chunk with all her might and nailed one of the soldiers in the chest. The soldier flew backward like a bullet and smashed into the far side wall hard enough to leave a large crack in the foundation. The other soldiers turned their heads in utter bewilderment, probably trying to wrap their mind around how a small kid could throw so hard. The distraction it provided allowed Komodo the chance to finally turn on the soldiers, growling like a beast on the hunt.

Komodo lunged at the soldiers, jumping in the middle of the flock and scattering them with a lash of her tail. She snapped at one of the soldiers on the ground, burying her teeth into his leg; the soldier's scream was muffled by the guns shots. The reptilian protector shook her head back and forth at a very fast rate, flailing the poor soldier around, smacking him into the floor and other soldiers nearby. Komodo eventually unclamped her jaws, sending the soldier flying into murky pool. Two soldiers who had finished replacing their clips pulled down on their triggers as hard as they could as if it would do anything to make the hailstorm of bullets more painful. It didn't; the bullets only bounced off Komodo's thick scales. Komodo casually walked over to the pair, flicking another soldier with her tail, and picked them up by their heads before slamming them together.

"Idiots," muttered Komodo, dropping them.

"Molly!" Klara cried.

Komodo spun around on her heels. One of the soldiers had gotten behind Molly and hit her in the back of the head with the butt of his rifle. Komodo hissed savagely and took a step closer, but the soldier quickly pulled Molly up by the back of her shirt and pressed his gun against her cheek.

"Don't move, freak!" shouted the soldier. "Or I swear to God, I will shoot her brains out!"

"No, leave Molly alone!" Klara cried.

Klara, who had been frightened before, now looked beyond furious; her eyes narrowed sharply and her teeth gritted tight. She threw her hands at the soldier with an ugly snarl. Then, from completely out of nowhere, several hundred vines ripped through the concrete floor and snapped at the soldier. The man screamed in fright, unintentionally letting Molly go, as the vines constricted around every part of him until her was wrapped in a cocoon of green. But the vines didn't stop yet; they flew across every part of the Sanctuary, entangling every soldier they could get their leafy hands on. Klara raised her hands to the ceiling and a tower of plants topped with a blooming red rose emerged from the central pool, pulling all of the leaf cocoons to hang from it. Molly cheered.

"Yeah, you don't mess with the Tower of the Flower!" said Molly.

"I really don't like that name, to be honest," said Klara meekly.

"Tower of Flower is way better than Rose Red, right?" said Molly, looking to Komodo for assistance.

"Er…" Komodo stammered uncertainly.

"Wow, that is some kid you got there," the White Devil said to Nico and Chase. "She's almost at Poison Ivy level."

"I know, she's awesome, right?" said Chase. "But it's a real pain to clean up after her. One time, when we were hiding out in Malibu, Old Lace – he used to be our pet dinosaur – sneak into Klara's room and – "

"Does this _look _like the time to be exchanging stories?" Nico said exasperatedly.

The three of them were presently holed up behind the White Devil's barrier, which was still standing fairly strong despite the relentless assault that the soldiers were throwing at them. The fight had been moving greatly in favor of the heroes – Nico, Chase, and the White Devil were shooting down the hired hitmen like flies – but when they hit the ten minute mark, a second wave of soldiers had swarmed into the junction, this times armed with frag grenades and shotguns. When the first frag was thrown, the White Devil pulled Nico and Chase closer to herself and conjured the barrier just before the grenade ripped a hole in the hole. The Devil's barrier withstood the blast, but she couldn't put it down because the other soldiers started firing on them in rapid succession. Klara's Tower of Flower had taken out most of the group, but there were still close to a dozen left.

The White Devil waved Raising Heart over her head, conjuring a small number of Divine Spheres – she couldn't create more without both her hands. The sphere shots around the barrier and knocked down a couple soldiers, but they quickly got back on their feet and pressed on. Chase leaned around the barrier and shot several fireballs from his gloves ("They're called Fistigons" said Chase to which the White Devil replied "That's a stupid name." and Nico said "I know, right?"). The fireballs exploded at the soldier's feet, but many of them continued to push through the flames. That was until Nico shouted "_**COLD FEET!**_" and the soldiers suddenly found their ankles trapped in blocks of ice.

"There's always a time for exchanging stories," the White Devil said playfully. "Did I ever tell you about the time I met a Skrull who wanted a part-time job at my family's café?

"Yeah, we don't talk about Skrulls a whole lot," Chase said uneasily. "Nico doesn't like them very much. It because there was this one Skrull named Xavin who really liked Karolina and – "

"_DON'T – "_ Nico said furiously; her eyes were glowing in a very dangerous fashion. " – _YOU – EVER – SAY – HIS – NAME!_"

Nico slammed her Staff of One into the floor and a great shockwave of purple energy rippled through the junction, knocking everyone off their feet regardless if they were friend or foe. As the White Devil flopped on her back, she made a mental note not to talk about Skrulls again.

The soldiers were already getting back up, some of them a little groggy, but the White Devil was already on her feet and ascending to the ceiling of the Sanctuary. The White Devil did a head count. Not including the ones trapped in Klara's Tower of Flower, there was still fourteen hired hitmen flocking around the Sanctuary. She swiped Raising Heart across the air, summoning just as many Divine Spheres. The White Devil tipped Raising Heart in front of her; the hidden trigger mechanism unlocked and a targeting screen appeared above Raising Heart's jewel.

"**Targeting system – active!**" said Raising Heart; fourteen red diamond blips appeared on the screen. "**Targets locked! Fire when ready!**"

"**Divine Shooter Full Power!**" shouted the White Devil.

She pulled the trigger and the fourteen Divine Spheres shot around the Sanctuary like rockets. One by one, the soldiers were knocked down by the oncoming Mana bullets; some of them were even thrown off the ground and flew into the walls. The Runaways looked impressed; Molly was clapping and cheering much louder than necessary. Raising Heart's trigger mechanism locked again and the White Devil floated back to the floor, greeted by Signum, Komodo, Faraji, and the Runaways. Chase tapped one of the fallen soldiers with her foot, making sure they were really unconscious.

"Okay, I'll admit, that was awesome," said Chase.

"See, I told you!" said Molly excitedly. "Isn't she the most awesome hero ever?"

"Well, she's no Captain America," said Nico, holding out her hand. "But she's kinda cool. Thanks for helping out, Devil."

"Any time," said White Devil, accepting the gesture. "Though now I'm worried about what's going to happen to the Sanctuary. Because of me, they now know it exists down here. What're you going to do now, Komodo? Are you going to find somewhere else to live?"

"No," said Komodo. "The people here have worked too hard to make the Sanctuary the way it is; it wouldn't be right to uproot them. We'll fortify our defense and train the people to fight back against invaders. The Sanctuary should be a place where people feel they can belong without worry."

"Then I'll – " Signum started, but stopped and noticed that Karolina was still clinging to her arm. "Um…you can let go now."

"Oh, right, my bad," Karolina said shyly, her cheeks dusted in red; Nico frowned.

Signum Yagami – ladies woman, the White Devil thought humorously.

"I'll take these men back to the station with me," said Signum, gesturing to the unconscious soldiers. "With any luck, we'll get something out of them that we can pin on the Leviathan."

"Doubt that's going to work," said the White Devil pessimistically. "The Leviathan is too good at hiding his track. I'll bet by now he's already come up with ten different cover stories to explain everything away. But, if you don't mind, I'd like to take one of them for myself. Send a little message to the Leviathan: the Sanctuary is under my protection and if he wants to get to these people, he'll have to go through me."

"That's more than we could ever ask for," said Komodo gratefully. "Thank you, White Devil and Lieutenant Yagami. Because of you, these people will have a better chance at living. You are welcomed here any time."

"You'll visit soon, right?" asked Molly. "I wanna hear all your cool stories about the bad guys you beat up."

"Don't worry," said the White Devil, picking up one of the soldiers and walking toward the entrance. "I get the feeling you guys will see me a lot around here."

* * *

Mizuiro Kaiju sat alone in his office; his expression blank as his eyes roamed the words that were writing in front of him. Lawson had dropped off the report of the search for the missing Runaway, and none of it was too his liking. Not only had they managed to lose track of them for several hours, but they had also stumbled into a secret sanctuary beneath Uminari City that was protected by what his men were describing as a "Lizard Demon". And then, one of his men had the nerve to stumble into back to the meeting place with a message from the White Devil, saying to steer clear of the underground if he knew what was good for him. It's only out of mercy that Lawson killed him before the Leviathan could get to him.

But it wasn't a total loss, Mizuiro thought to himself. His men may have bungled up in one way, but they succeeded in another. The information he brought back on the target was…interesting. The way he described the Runaway's powers made him think that he wasn't fully aware of what he was dealing with. That was quickly going to change.

Mizuiro reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a purple-crystal ball on a small golden stand, setting it in the center of his desk. Peering into the ball for a full minute, he waited until the mist inside parted and a shadowy figure appeared through the glass.

"What is it, Leviathan?" said the mysterious shadow (a woman by her voice). "Have you finally caught the brat?"

"No such luck, Miss Gorgon," said Mizuiro flippantly. "On the contrary, it would seem that she is out of our reach. There are forces at work protecting her that I believe our company will not be able to overcome."

"So you called me just to tell me you failed?" said Miss Gorgon angrily.

"No, I called because you lied to me, Miss Gorgon," Mizuiro said, getting straight to the point. "I thought it was odd that you were willing to pay such a high price – in gold, no less – for one little mage. But it turns out that Nico Minoru is not a mage, is she? She's a Witch, isn't she?"

Miss Gorgon floated in the crystal ball in silence for a long moment, then she said very slowly: "How did you figure out?"

"You insult my intelligence, Miss Gorgon," said Mizuiro, leaning back in his chair. "You think I wouldn't notice the distinct differences in Miss Minoru, especially when I have a long-standing rivalry with an actual mage? At first, I tried searching for Miss Minoru through an Eternano scan, but she never showed up on radar. Now it makes sense. Witches aren't born with Linker Cores so they can't draw in magical particles as naturally as Mages."

"And now that you know this, you're going to capitalize on the opportunity," said Miss Gorgon simply.

"How can I not?" said Mizuiro, laughing. "The first True Witch born since the Saint King Unification War and she just happens to be on the same world. This is the chance of a lifetime. The TSAB will pay through the nose to get their hands on a True Witch."

"You are meddling in forces you cannot hope to comprehend, Mizuiro Kaiju," Miss Gorgon said threateningly. "If Nico Minoru is not delivered to our coven, then there will be…unsavory consequences."

"I think I'll take my chances," said Mizuiro, smirking. "Good bye, Miss Gorgon."

And with that, Mizuiro removed the crystal ball and shoved it back into his desk, leaning back in his chair with a satisfied grin. Armed with the knowledge of the Runaway's true lineage, Mizuiro began to look to the future. A very crimson future.

* * *

**Cocoa Hott: **Come by and visit us at the Rabbit House, the happiest place on Earth!

**Nanoha: **Wait, are you advertising? You can't do that!

**Cocoa Hott: **We have the best coffee in the whole country, the softest bread you'll ever taste, and Chino is just the cutest little sister ever!

**Nanoha: **Security! Someone call security! Stop her!

**Cocoa Hott: **Stop on by the Rabbit House and you might even get to pet Tippy. He's so fluffy and warm, like a marshmellow.

**Nanoha: **Don't listen to her! Go to Midori-ya! MIDORI-YA!

**Cocoa Hott: **Next time on the White Devil:

**Is the Order a Rabbit (nano)?**

**Cocoa Hott: **Magical! Lyrical! I'll do my best!

**Nanoha: **That's my line!


End file.
